Crossing the Divide
by playergurl89
Summary: One hot call can derail a whole day. Will it also derail Team One?
1. Lovely Day

**__**_A/N: Okay, sooooo I am obesessed with Flashpoint! It's such an amazing show and I love all of the characters even though I originally checked it out because I just found out Amy Jo was on in and I am a MMPR fangirl for life ( or a Tommy and Kimberly shipper at least... in my world, he grew old with Kim NOT Kat!). Anyway, getting off topic. As I've already established, I love Flashpoint to pieces, so I've already got most of the chapters written, but I can't decide how to end it, so can you guys choose for me? The ending behind door number one or door number two? You can vote once per chapter review. And if anybody wants to offer to be my beta...that'd be awesome!_

**_Flashpoint_**

_"She needs to remember she still has something to live for, Jules," Greg coached her through the headset._

_"Boss, we've gotta get in there," Sam insisted. The woman's erratic reasoning was worrying the hell out of him._

_"Give Jules a chance to talk her down. Jules, remember that no matter what's going on right now, she is a mother."_

_Jules let out a slow breath. "Let's just slow down and we can talk calmly about what happened here today. This stress can't be good for the baby—"_

_"Neither will growing up without its father!" the woman cried as she shifted her grip to pull the trigger._

_**3 hours earlier**_

"Jules? You awake?" Because her face was buried in the pillow, Jules knew Sam couldn't see the smiles that his lips on her bare shoulder evoked. She decided to wait for a few more kisses before giving up the ruse. She loved waking up this way. With him beside her. The best part about it was that they didn't have to sneak around to do it. She didn't think she'd ever get over that. The two things that mattered the most to her, Sam and Team One, were both hers. She was allowed to have both.

After a moment, Jules turned over and smiled at Sam, who was hovering over her. She took note of the fact that he was already fully dressed and sighed inwardly with disappointment. It looked like she was showering alone this morning. "Good morning…" She leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "Are the steaks marinating?" she asked as she stretched slightly, causing the sheet covering her body to shift a little lower.

"Uh huh…" Sam murmured, his eyes tracking the sheet's progress. He was suddenly wishing that they didn't have to work and that they weren't meeting up with Spike and Natalie for dinner afterward. Jules just _had _to overhear Nat questioning his progression on the road to learning how to cook under the tutelage of Jules herself and suggest Natalie and Spike come to her place so she could prove it.

Jules smirked and gave him a slight shove, easily reading his thoughts. "Let me hop in the shower real quick and then I'll make breakfast." She gave him another quick kiss before sliding out from underneath the covers and disappearing into the bathroom.

Sam collapsed facedown onto the bed and laid there for a minute, letting his heart rate return to normal after watching Jules strut around naked, then raised his head and reached for his cell phone, which was sitting on the nightstand on his side of the bed. After dialing his sister's number from memory, he waited for her to pick up the phone. _"Hello?"_ She sounded groggy as though he'd woken her up. "Hey, I'm probably not going to have time to stop by the apartment tonight, so can you grab something for me and bring it with you tonight? It's in a bag at the top of the coat closet." He heard some shuffling, as though she was getting up, as she asked what it was. "Don't peek, just bring it. Can you do that for me?" She yawned before agreeing. _"Sure, Sam. See you tonight."_ He found her quick acquiescence suspicious, but he let it go. "Bye."

* * *

><p><strong> "What the hell is this?"<strong> Scott Ames demanded, feeling sick, angry, horrified, and bereft all at once as he stared his wife in the face, shaking the condemning test results at her.

"You weren't supposed to find that," Emily responded shakily as she slid a hand over her swollen belly. The action was a spontaneous one and she realized that it was also an _erroneous_ one as Scott's eyes followed the motion and his hands clenched into fists. She had never ever feared her husband would raise a hand against her before this moment. "That…" she gestured toward the paper she wished she'd burned after reading, "doesn't matter. It doesn't."

"What's his name? Who is he?" Scott demanded, ignoring her ludicrous claim that it didn't matter that she was carrying another man's child.

"It doesn't matter," Emily insisted, brushing tears away with the back of her hand. "We can work it out. You and me. We can finally have a family again!"

* * *

><p><strong>"Hot call, Team One.<strong> Two men on the roof of Albert Towers, one of them is armed and holding the other one at gunpoint." Winnie's voice announced over the PA system. Everyone immediately ceased their various activities and started gearing up. "One of the men works in the building, Henry Frank. Apparently he willingly left a meeting to talk to Scott Ames, and then Ames pulled the gun and took Frank up to the roof." Winnie's voice sounded quieter now that she was communicating through their coms.

"Sounds personal," Jules remarked as she fastened her bulletproof vest. "And reckless, like he's got nothing left to lose."

"Winnie, who does Frank work for?" Greg asked.

"CorpSoft. He's an applications developer. Ames is neither a current nor a former employee of the company," she added, anticipating the follow up question.

"Okay, what do we have on Ames?"

"No priors, married, lives at 1655 Aberforth Street. He's an accountant," she added, a hint or irony detectable in her voice.

"Jules…"

"On it, Boss," Jules responded instantly, not needing him to complete the order. She'd drop by the Ames residence, question the wife, and see if she could find out what set Scott Ames off. Hopefully it was something that would help them get both men down from the roof safely.

Greg gave a curt nod. "Ed, you're with me," he said, wanting to talk strategy on the way, before adding, "Let's go keep the peace!"


	2. Rolling In the Deep

_A/N: So, while I was editing this chapter, I got inspired. What does that mean, you wonder? It means that the two endings I'm considering are more of a fork in the road than 'endings', but that chapter (chapter 4) will still be extremely important in terms of the progression of the story. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy the story._

"**So, Sam…dinner tonight…" **Spike remarked off-handedly, causing Sam to glance at him from the corner of his eye. In the backseat, Raf tilted his head to the side curiously.

"What about it?" Sam asked warily.

"I was just wondering if that's gonna be the main event or if me and Nat are supposed to cut out early, you know?" Spike said nonchalantly.

If Sam weren't driving, he'd be giving his teammate an utterly blank stare. "Spike, what the _hell _are you talking about?"

"Well, uh, Natty told me about the…you know…"

Sam groaned. "She didn't!"

Spike couldn't exactly say the words when, in actuality, he'd seen it for himself. However, he didn't really want to broadcast the fact that he'd spent the night at Sam's place with his sister. "So you looking for an audience or what?" he asked instead, knowing there was no way in hell Jules or Natalie would allow a complete cancellation.

"Or what," Sam snapped.

"Did I miss something?" Raf asked, looking back and forth between his teammates.

"Don't worry about it, Buddy," Spike blithely dismissed as he opened his laptop and started typing away.

* * *

><p><strong>Pulling up to the Ames residence, <strong>Jules took note of the quiet, comfortable neighborhood it was located in. She parked on the street and walked up to the front door. After knocking, she allowed her eyes to skim over the homey touches on the porch. The swing bench with multitudes of pillows strewn over it and an afghan tossed over the back. Wind chimes hanging by the door. The door swung open and Jules's eyes honed in on the pretty woman who was obviously pregnant. "Emily Ames?" At the woman's nod, Jules continued. "My name is Jules Callaghan and I'm with the Strategic Response Unit. I need to talk to you about your husband Scott."

"Oh God, what did he do? Is he okay?" Emily asked as she backed up to allow Jules entry.

Jules took note of the fact that Emily wasn't surprised to find a cop on her doorstep asking about her husband; nor was she launching into the usual primary response of denial that anything could be wrong. "He's on a roof threatening a man with a gun. Do you know a Henry Frank?" Emily flushed, indicated to Jules that she did indeed know of him. "Do you know why your husband would want to hurt him?"

"This baby I'm carrying…he was supposed to be our second chance. After our daughter died, we tried really hard to have another baby. I mean _really _hard and it was putting a strain on our marriage and Henry…he was so supportive and…"

When Emily faltered, Jules decided to save her from saying the words out loud. "You and Henry had an affair." Emily nodded. "Scott isn't the father."

"I still want him to be so bad. I don't care what the paternity test said."

"You took a test?"

"Yeah. I wanted the doctor to have an accurate medical history for the baby, just in case because of what happened last time, but I wasn't sure if Scott was the biological father or not, so I had to. Anyway, he found the results this morning and lost it. I've never seen him so angry. But he really isn't a violent person and he'd never hurt Henry, they've been friends forever! Please, I need to see him."

"Hang on," Jules said, turning away and putting a few feet between them. "Boss, you got all that?"

"Yeah, good work Jules."

"Emily, I'm going to ask you some more questions on the way, okay?" Jules said, intending to paint a better picture of who Scott Ames was outside of being a man who waited a long time to have another child only to lose that one as well.

* * *

><p><strong>After trying and failing to reach either man <strong>by phone, Greg went up to the roof with Sam covering him. Ed was situated in a sniper perch across the street in the event Greg failed and Raf would soon be hanging out of a window on the floor below them to catch either of the men if he fell. Spike was in a truck below, manning the command post.

"Hi Scott, I'm Greg Parker. I tried calling your cell, but you wouldn't pick up. I really wanted to talk to you, though, so here I am."

"Back off! This has nothing to do with you!" Scott shouted.

"Scott, why don't you put that gun down? I have to think that if you really wanted to use it, you would have by now," he reasoned.

"You're wrong." Scott shook his head to emphasize his opinion. "I want him admit what he did!"

"And what do you think he did, Scott?"

"He seduced my wife!"

"But she didn't leave you, did she?"

"She might as well have! She slept with him. She's carrying his baby."

"All she wanted was comfort, Scott," Henry interjected, causing Greg to roll his eyes. The last thing he needed was for him to keep Scott riled up by getting the man to focus on him.

"All right, Henry?" Greg raised a hand, suggesting he not continue to interfere. "Scott? I need you to listen to _me_."

* * *

><p><strong>On the street below<strong>, Jules and Emily arrived and joined Spike in the truck to listen as the negotiations continued amongst periodic status reports from Sam, Raf, and Ed. "If you just let me go up and talk to him, I know I can fix this. Please," Emily begged.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that. If you want me to pass along a message for you…?" Jules offered. It was the best she could give the woman.

"No, I need to _talk _to him. I need to make him understand! In every way that matters, this will be _his _baby. His and mine. I love him. I want to have a family with _him_."

Jules listened as Greg tried to convince Scott that his marriage wasn't over and that he could still have his family if he didn't kill Henry. She muttered a curse under her breath when Henry protested that if it was his kid, he wanted it. Did that guy have a death wish? She really wondered if he did. Scott started talking to him, yelling, actually, instead of Greg and Greg couldn't get him to focus again. "I'm sorry, but you cannot talk to him until he is off the edge," Jules told Emily again. The other woman kept insisting she be allowed to go to her husband. Jules hung her head when she heard Greg utter the word _Scorpio_, slowly released her breath when she heard the gunshot.

Spike had immediately shut off the speaker when he heard the order out of deference to Emily Ames, but the shot above them was more than audible without it.

"Subject down." Ed's voice reported.

Jules cleared her throat. "I'm really sorry, Emily, but…"

"He's dead," she said woodenly.

"Yes. My team had to—"

"No! I could have talked him down! Why didn't you people let me talk to him? Why didn't you let me be there for him when he needed me the most?" the distraught woman demanded as she dug into her purse and pulled out a pistol.

"Please put down the gun," Jules requested, simultaneously informing the others of the situation over the com as she wondered where the hell the gun had come from. It wasn't one of theirs, so she hadn't stolen it, and Jules was positive she hadn't grabbed it on the way out of the house. It had to have been in the purse the whole time, maybe as a protective piece, which didn't quiet gel with the picture she'd drawn in her head of the couple's quiet, comfortable life. "He was going to kill him," Jules explained, keeping her voice steady only by a sheer act of will as the woman waved the gun back and forth between Spike and herself. "You heard—"

"Don't! Don't tell me what I heard! I know what I heard! What you made me do! You used what I said to manipulate him and now he's gone!"

Jules looked at Spike and saw he was at as much of a loss as she was right now. "Emily, why don't we step outside and get some fresh air? Gain a little perspective."

"Oh I have perspective! What I don't have is a husband. You have no idea how much I loved him. No idea! He was my whole life!"

Jules didn't allow the ridiculousness of that claim reveal itself via her expression. If she loved the guy so much, why did she cheat on him?

"She needs to remember she still has something to live for, Jules," Greg coached her through the headset as he made his way down the stairwell with Sam.

"Boss, we've gotta get in there," Sam insisted. The woman's erratic reasoning was worrying the hell out of him.

"Give Jules a chance to talk her down. Jules, remember that no matter what's going on right now, she is a mother."

Jules let out a slow breath. "Let's just slow down and we can talk calmly about what happened here today. This stress can't be good for the baby—"

"Neither will growing up without its father!" the woman cried as she shifted her grip to pull the trigger.


	3. Heart On Fire

_A/N: I couldn't resist tossing this up before I turn in for the night. I'm terrible about waiting to post things because I hate keeping people in the dark about what happens next, maybe because I hate being left in suspense myself... On another note, I really like writing this story. Fanfiction and music videos will probably be my salvation until Season 5 starts._

Spike charged Emily, throwing her against the wall of the narrow space as the gun went off, and wrestled the gun away from her.

"Status!" Greg's voice demanded urgently.

"No harm, Boss," Spike panted as he handcuffed Emily's hands together. "Subject contained."

"Jules?" Greg prompted after a brief pause.

Seconds ticked by, feeling like years, and then Spike turned his head to look over his shoulder at Jules. He had to angle his head downward to catch sight of her. "Oh God, Jules! Winnie, we need EMS out here stat! Officer down!" He dropped to his knees beside her. "Oh God…"

"Spike, what's happening?" Sam panted as he practically flew down the remaining flights of stairs with Greg on his heels. In his head, an array of thoughts ranging from 'Please don't die on me' to 'I want you to have my kids' bounced around from wall to wall, creating an almost audible clamor to fill the seemingly unending silence on Spike's end of the line. He nearly tore the truck's door off its hinges opening it, and his heart dropped to the floor once he did.

Spike's hands were covered in blood and wrapped around Jules's neck as he tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood while simultaneously avoiding her helpless gaze. He'd be no good to her if he focused on her face instead of keeping her alive. "Where's EMS?" he screamed.

"Already en route," Winnie's voice responded as Greg pushed past a frozen Sam. The approaching sirens confirmed her words. They had to have already been on their way when Spike demanded them. Perhaps summoned for the dead man on the roof. He could wait.

"Sarge…"

"Jules, God, save your strength, okay?"

"Sarge…sorry…don't…blame yourself."

Greg let out a sound that might have been mistaken for a laugh by anyone who couldn't see the look of pain on his face. She knew him so well. Even though he'd never even laid eyes on Emily Ames or even spoken a word directly to her, she he'd blame himself for Jules's failure to get through to her. Maybe even for those reasons exactly, he would. "Don't worry about me, Jules, we're gonna make sure you're okay."

"You be…okay. You, too…Spike."

The weakness in her voice spurred Sam into action and he moved inside, knelt down next to Spike who was relentlessly trying to control the bleeding. She was not checking out on him. Not now. Not today. They were all going home today. Maybe not literally, but…damn it she was in the truck. In the god damn truck! She was supposed to be safe in here, out of the line of fire. "Jules, help's on the way. Just hang on, okay?"

"Sam…"

"Shhh…don't. Don't say it. You're going to be okay. You don't have to tell me to be strong and move on because you aren't going to die on me. Do you hear me? You will not die," he willed her.

Her eyes fluttered. "I love you," she breathed, her voice barely there.

"I love you." Sam could feel his mouth forming the words, but any energy it would have taken to sound them out was being expended on stopping himself from sitting there crying when he was on the job.

They all heard the screech of tires. Greg was on his feet in an instant to wave the paramedics inside. Sam stood, then reached for Emily Ames and pulled her to her feet before leaving the van, dragging her along with him, to get out of their way. The paramedics quickly collected Jules and rushed her toward the ambulance on a gurney.

Ed had forced the SIU agent who was taking him for a debriefing to wait so he could catch a glimpse of Jules. He watched with his jaw clenched as the paramedics ran off with her. She didn't look good. He wanted to go to the hospital with the others, but he didn't have a choice. He'd been forced to shoot Scott Ames when he'd raised his gun to do that very same thing to the man who had once been his friend, and now Ed had paperwork to fill out, routine questions to answer. If he'd known the outcome would be this, he'd be hard-pressed to say whether he still would have taken the shot and done his job. The rules said civilians' safety came first, team member safety came last, but it was Jules. How many times was she going to get shot because of him and walk away from it? Had she just gotten lucky last time? Part of him wanted to say yes, he would have done his job no matter what, but the part of him who was a man, who loved his team as an extension of his family, who loved Jules as an extension of his family, rebelled against it. The truth was, he didn't know what he would have done. He just wished Jules hadn't gotten hurt as a direct result from his actions.

Sam stiffly marched Emily over to an unoccupied paramedic on Greg's orders as Spike stumbled out of the van with blood gloved hands and haunted eyes. "Spike? You okay?" he asked the officer, resting a hand on either shoulder in a bid to gain his attention.

Spike seemingly looked his boss in the eye, but he was really looking somewhere beyond him. "I didn't…I tried the best I could. I think the bullet hit the carotid. I was trying to plug it with my finger so she wouldn't bleed out… I didn't…couldn't talk to her…I didn't say goodbye. After Lew, I swore I'd never…that I'd never miss that chance again…"

"Hey, look at me. You hearing me? Hey!" Greg waited for Spike's eyes to slide into focus and for a curt nod. "Jules is alive right now, probably because of you. She's going to be okay because of what you did with these two hands," he insisted, grabbing hold of those very hands, still warm and sticky with blood. "This isn't the same as what happened to Lew. You didn't need to say goodbye."

Wanting, no, _needing_ for that to be true, Spike nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

A/N: 3rd cliffhanger in a row. Don't hate me, it's necessary until I decide which version of the next chapter is going up... Speaking of which, I leaning on using one and tweaking the other into a one-shot. I'll have to sleep on it.


	4. It Will Rain

_A/N: The readers have spoken!__ I confess, I was toying with the idea of killing her off because I can be evil like that sometimes...however I am not beyond redemption ~_

**It wasn't long before **Sam, Greg, Spike, and Raf were able to leave the scene and head to the hospital, but Wordy still managed to beat them there and was waiting for them when they arrived. He'd heard about what happened and nothing except for _maybe _a ball and chain, and even that was a stretch, would have kept him at his desk. That his supervisor understood was only a convenience. He might not be a member of Team One anymore, but they were still family. That didn't change just because he was rolling with Guns and Gangs. Now he told his brothers grimly, "They took her straight into surgery. She lost _a lot _of blood. The bullet nicked the carotid and they were worried about the brain maybe having been deprived of blood."

Greg patted him on the shoulder unsmilingly before leading the men to a row of empty seats in the waiting room and dropping into a chair. One by one, his friends and colleagues did the same and they all waited for an update on Jules's condition.

The only thing that made the wait bearable for Sam was that nobody came out to tell him Jules was dead. As long as nobody said anything to them, she was alive.

After a couple of hours, a surgeon came out asking if the men were there for Juliana Callaghan. After they responded in the affirmative, he told them that the surgery went well and that Jules was being moved to post-op. They'd know more about her condition when she woke up, but he was optimistic. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief before marching off to see her for themselves. Just to make sure that the last time they'd seen her really hadn't been the last time they'd ever see her alive. The doctor warned them not to overwhelm her with visitors. He knew better than to try and deter the determined looking men from going to look and didn't have the heart to take any preventive measures against them considering the service they provided to society.

Sam didn't hesitate to enter the room and claim the chair beside her bed. "Hey, Beautiful. I am so sorry I wasn't there to protect you. Again." He took hold of one of her limp hands, raised it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to the back of it as he tried not to break down and cry. He hated seeing her lying in this bed again. It would be easier to take if she would open her eyes, if she could tell him she was going to be okay… if she could tell him that his most recent failure to keep her safe wasn't going to be the one that cost him _her_.

Spike felt his phone vibrate as he kept vigil outside of the room with Greg, Raf, and Wordy, and checked the caller id. It was Natalie. With a grimace, he took note of the time before answering. They were supposed to be at Jules's house right now. Natalie was understandably concerned as to why she was the only one who showed and wanted to know what was going on, so he told her. She declared she was coming without waiting for an invitation and Spike returned to his spot along the wall as Ed showed up. Since he'd had to go back to the station, he'd gone ahead and changed his clothes while he was at it.

"How is she?" Ed asked.

"Stable," Raf supplied, rolling his shoulders. "I'm going to go get us all some coffee."

"I'll help," Wordy offered, glad for something to do besides leaning against the wall waiting. He was willing to wait all night, but the other benefit of the brief respite was he got to do something for his haggard-looking ex-teammates. "Hey, Man," he greeted Ed as he passed him.

After a while, Spike's phone rang again and he went to the lobby to fetch Natalie, who'd shown up as she said she would. When she saw him, she threw herself into his arms. "God, Spike, are you okay?" she asked. She'd caught a report that she was pretty sure pertained to what had happened, despite the withholding of the involved officers' names, on the radio on her way to the hospital.

Spike shuddered slightly as he said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Jules is the one who…who got shot."

"That doesn't mean you're okay," the perceptive blonde countered, briefly tightening her arms around him before letting go. "How is she? Sam must be a mess," she speculated, threading the fingers of her left hand through the ones on Spike's right and heading back the way he'd come.

Spike explained all that he knew, including the possibility of brain damage, as they slowly traversed the halls. Talking to her, Spike felt a little steadier. Not necessarily less worried, but more grounded. When they reached Jules's room, she gave his hand a squeeze before releasing it and slipping into the room. He immediately missed the warmth of her touch.

She re-emerged a moment later having accomplished what it would have taken the Jaws of Life for anybody else to do at the present. She brought Sam out with her. "We're going to make a cafeteria run. We'll bring something back if I see anything that looks edible."

Spike smiled slightly at the joke and watched as Greg disappeared inside the room. Ed and Wordy were trading notes on raising girls, even though the only one Ed had wasn't even two yet. Wordy had plenty of cautionary tales for his friend that made Ed glad he'd shaved his head before the grays started popping up. Raf was quiet and Spike moved a little closer to him. "This doesn't happen often, you know. We're not the best for nothing."

"I know, man, I just…sometimes I forget she's a woman, you know? I don't mean like that. She's just…bigger than her height. Now she just looks small and fragile."

Spike nodded his understanding. It was easy to overlook her diminutive height when Jules was being Jules. Plus they all knew what she was capable of. Her personality and capabilities weren't in evidence when she was lying still and pale in a hospital bed. "Just don't let her hear you say that or she'll show you that you don't have to be a woman to be fragile." He was proud of himself for managing to utter a joke.

* * *

><p>"<strong>I brought what you asked for," <strong>Natalie quietly informed her brother after she had him walking for a few minutes. It felt like was burning a hole in her pocket because she really wanted to see it in action.

"You told Spike about it," Sam accused just as quietly, recalling the distinctly different mood he'd been in when he'd called her that morning.

"I did no such thing…I sent him to get it for me and leave it on the nightstand before he left so I wouldn't forget. Not my fault if he peeked. Can I say it's beautiful, though?"

"Yeah," Sam responded wearily, holding out a hand. He didn't miss the fact that Spike hadn't mentioned _how _he'd managed to find the time to nose around in his business that morning. His sister relinquished the small box.

"She's going to be okay, Sam. And she she's going to love that."

Closing his fist over the box, Sam nodded, trying valiantly to hold back the tears that threatened. He wished he could be as optimistic, as _sure _as his sister was, but he'd seen too much in the world. Too many horrors. Too many deaths that shouldn't have happened.

Seeing her brother's struggle, Natalie hugged him. "It's okay," she tried to soothe him. "She's going to be okay." She fell silent when she felt wetness against the side of her neck and they stood there for a few minutes while she held him and he cried. When he was ready, they went the rest of the way to the cafeteria to determine whether they were bringing food back or not; with the unspoken agreement that what had just happened, never happened.

* * *

><p><strong>Greg stared down <strong>at Jules's still form and it was like having a bout of déjà vu. He wished it really were just a trick of his memory, but the sharp scent of disinfectant dispelled that hope. Surly the smell was unpleasant enough to wake him all on its own?

He asked himself why he hadn't sent backup with her to the Ames residence even though he already knew the answer. They'd needed bodies onsite and the task he'd sent her on had been low-risk. Nobody had expected the wife to get violent. She'd seemed remorseful, like she desperately wanted to make things right with her husband. She hadn't seemed to pose a danger to either herself or others. But maybe if they'd looked at the gun registry…seen the couple owned two and not one…but it hadn't pertained to the task at hand: Talking the husband off the roof and out of shooting the man who got his wife pregnant. Every rationalization in his head was intoned by Jules's voice.

He sighed heavily. Even lying there, bleeding to death, she had worried about him, about everybody else. Maybe because she figured we'd worry enough about her that she didn't need to bother worrying about herself? He didn't know. He knew he wished he was a praying man. That's what he did know.

After listening to the steady beeping of the monitors for a few minutes, he stepped out into the hall again. "You know if you guys have somewhere to be, you should get going. We can debrief tomorrow."

"In a little while, Boss," Ed said. "Soph's holding down the fort a home." Wordy echoed his faith in Shelley, and Raf and Spike simply dismissed the suggestion. "Wasn't Dean visiting today?" Ed asked

"Tomorrow," Greg asserted. Actually, calling it a visit was a bit of an understatement. He was coming up to look at schools with Clark.

Sam and Natalie returned with Natalie-approved fruit, crackers, and bottled water. Raf grimaced. "Where's the protein?"

Natalie wrinkled her nose as she moved to stand close enough to Spike that her arm brushed his. "It's cafeteria food," she remarked as though that should explain everything. All it did was spark a debate between the two over quality versus quantity.

Sam shook his head, knowing he'd warned her before they returned about the reception of her choices, and ducked back into Jules's room. After a while, Ed and Wordy had to go home to their families, Raf needed 'real' sustenance, and Greg needed to head back to the station to fill out some paperwork. Each one of them demanded an update when anything changed.

* * *

><p><strong>Around one in the morning<strong>, Spike entered the room and touched a dozing Sam's shoulder. He came awake instantly and looked around for whatever had interrupted his nap. "Hey, Spike, what time is it?"

"Late. I'm gonna take Nat home. You gonna be okay here?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "You guys shouldn't have stayed so late."

"She's my family too," Spike pointed out. "And you're Natalie's." And he was scared to leave, but he didn't add that part because it still held true. The only reason he was, was because Natalie refused to leave without him even though she was half-asleep herself.

Sam nodded his understanding as he let his gaze slide back down to Jules's face. He froze. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Spike said, moving to get a better look.

"I could have sworn she just…." Sam's sentence trailed off as he stared intently at her.

Spike stared as well, and was just starting to think Sam's tired brain was playing tricks on him when she opened her eyes. She opened her _eyes_. Spike's knees fairly buckled with relief.

"Jules? Babe, I'm right here," he told her, leaning down to kiss the side of her head.

"Sam," she croaked before clearing her throat.

"Jules," he said simply, running his fingers through her hair.

"I'll find a doctor," Spike offered, before turning on his heel and doing just that before heading to the waiting room where Natalie had drifted off into a light doze, waking her and telling her what happened. Together, they headed back to Jules's room, where Sam was hovering outside the door while a doctor examined Jules.

"She's responsive," Sam said, looking so happy he didn't know what to do with himself. "Groggy, but the doctor said that was normal."

"That's great, Sam," Natalie said, giving him a quick hug. "You should come with us, get some real sleep," she suggested.

When it looked like he was going to refuse, Spike interjected, "A few hours won't kill you and you could be back before she wakes up."

"We'll see what the doctor says," Sam hedged, unwilling to commit to leaving Jules. There was only one commitment he wanted to make right now and he wasn't even sure he'd be allowed to make it after this. Not because Jules might die, but because Jules wouldn't let him the same way she didn't want to let him love her the first time she'd been shot because the SRU was so important to her. Now she wouldn't have to dump him to stay on the team, but he had bigger plans than just hanging onto his girlfriend.

While they waited, Spike sent a text to the rest of the team to let them know Jules had woken up and seemed to be doing okay.

Finally, the doctor emerged and confirmed that claim, saying he didn't think she'd suffer any permanent brain damage and that she had been extremely lucky. He also stated emphatically that she needed to rest, a statement that led itself to Spike and Natalie's insistence that he leave with them.

"Alright, alright," he relented. "Just give me a minute, okay?" He went back into the room and sat down in what he had come to think of as his chair. "Jules?" She smiled slightly at him and opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand in a silent bid for silence. "Don't try to talk. I just wanted to say… I love you. You're perfect, at least to me, and if you'd died, I would have died, too. If that's not enough of a reason to want to marry someone, I have a whole lot more I could lay on you, but the doctor says I'm supposed to let you rest, so…" She watched him, wide-eyed, as he pulled out a small square box and opened it so she could see the diamond ring nestled inside, and then set it on the table beside her bed. "…so, I want you to think about whether you have enough reasons to marry me and have my children, and whether I should ask you. I was going to ask after dinner, but, well…plans change, right? Now you get to sleep on it, I guess. I'll be back in the morning, okay?"

She nodded, but didn't give anything away as far as her reaction to his words. He gave her a quick kiss, and then left before he could wring an immediate answer from her. He didn't want to overwhelm her, but he didn't want to wait to make his intentions known either. Not after today. And if she said no because she didn't want to push her luck with the captain…he didn't know how he'd respond to that.

_A/N: Lots of Jules being talked/thought about and spoken to, but not a lot from Jules's perspective. Since she has an awful lot to consider, I figured I could save that for next time..._


	5. I'd Be Lying

**A/N: Not much to say here...except thanks for all the encouragement so far. Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

**Contemplative brown eyes met shiny diamond.** The eyes stared. The diamond winked back. Jules sighed. Sam wanted to marry her. How was that supposed to work? she mused, tracing the diamond's circumference. She slipped the ring onto her finger and studied the visual effect. It was perfect from ring-size to style. Beautifully simple because Sam knew she'd have hated gaudiness. If she were going to marry anyone, it would be him without a doubt. But she didn't think the commander let them stay on Team One together if they _did_ get married, no matter whovouched for them.

He wanted to have _children_ with her. The thought had flitted across her mind every now and then, too nebulous to take root. Now she couldn't get it out of her head. He wanted babies. Plural. She didn't think she was being vain in making the prediction that they would make absolutely gorgeous babies together. If they had babies. If they got married.

She should set the ring back in the box since she'd gotten a good look at it, but she didn't want to take it off her finger once she slipped it on. She liked it right where it was… which was a problem. What was more important? Keeping the ring on her finger or keeping her place on the team? She'd worked her ass off to stay on Team One as it was, and she was going to have to do the same again, which she was willing to do. But giving up Sam, too? That worked out so well the first time…

He hadn't said the words, neither the night before nor this morning when he'd stopped by before work, but she wasn't stupid. He was putting himself out there on a limb because what they were now wasn't enough. He wanted more, and if she didn't, she was out of luck.

She dropped her hand into her lap and relaxed into her pillow, closing her eyes. She knew there was a solution that would permit her to keep her family and not lose Sam; she just couldn't see it yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Team One's first order of business<strong> was to rip off the Band-Aid and debrief the hot call they'd handled the previous day and work out any mistakes they might have made and if they could have come out with a better outcome. Greg waited until after they had completed the debriefing to announce, "Emily Ames wasn't just some housewife." His team regarded him with blank stares. "Guns and Gangs had her flagged as an acquaintance of Kirby Zimmerman and Dane Bernthol, two suspected gunrunners. They aren't a hundred percent sure what the nature of the relationship is, but her gun was unregistered and the serial number was filed off which implies she was into _something_."

Sam felt his jaw flex. "Why didn't you tell us this before the debriefing so we knew what we missed?" he asked, thinly masking his irritation. He didn't fool any of the other men around the table. Fact was, they were wondering the same thing.

Greg had anticipated the question. "It contributed nothing to her husband's frame of mind and there's no indication it had any bearing on hers, either. I just figured you guys would want to know where the gun came from."

Predictably, Ed was the first to accept Greg's explanation. "It would have just made us second guess yourself unnecessarily. I assume Emily's in jail?"

"Yeah. Henry Frank, the baby's father, asked for a statement supporting his suit for full custody of the baby as soon as it's born."

"Good," Sam bit out. His teammates looked at him askance in response to the lack of compassion. He clenched his teeth against the desire to call them all hypocrites. If any one of them had claimed to wish Emily Ames well after what she did to Jules, he would have called the offending man a liar. Besides, her actions also endangered the life of that baby she supposedly wanted so badly. "We done here?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're done, hit the gym" Greg excused the team. "Sam, hold on a minute."

Sam, who had been halfway to his feet, dropped back down as the others marched out and headed toward the locker rooms. Already on the defensive, he started to say, "Boss…"

"How's she doing?" Greg cut him off, looking him straight in the eye.

"She's fine. The doctor's expecting a full recovery."

"And? What aren't you saying?" Greg pressed, sensing there was something else that had Sam on edge.

"Boss, she's fine, I swear," Sam insisted.

"Okay, then what's up with _you_?" Greg asked.

"Nothing, I…I'm just trying to think long-term about things. When I'm ready to talk about it, I will, okay?"

Greg stared at him for another beat or two before relenting. "Okay, fine, get out of here."

Sam jumped up as if his pants had caught fire and made his escape, leaving Greg to wonder just what it was the younger man wanted in the long-term.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Knock, knock," <strong>Natalie chirped as she poked her head in the door.

"Natalie. Come in," Jules said, smiling at the blonde because that was what people always wanted to see when they visited someone in the hospital. A smiling face to back up the fact that they were alive.

"I was on my way to _work _and I wanted to see if you needed anything," Natalie said casually.

"You got a job?" Jules squealed. Just last week Sam had complained that he suspected his sister had no intention whatsoever of doing that very thing.

"I got a job!" Natalie confirmed gleefully. "I was going to let the cat out of the bag last night but you kinda stole my thunder… " She gave Jules a mock-glare which Jules returned. "So, anyway, you are looking at Jest Enjoy's newest event consultant."

"Sounds fancy."

Natalie smirked. "It's supposed to." Then she caught the glint on Jules's hand and let out a shriek that she immediately tried to muffle with the back of her own hand. "He did it already? You said yes? You're going to be my sister-in-law? Ahhh! Oh!" She covered her mouth again for a split second before asking excitedly, "Can I plan the wedding? And the reception? And…oh! I'm so excited!"

Mouth hanging open, Jules dizzily watched Natalie flit around the room. It was a couple of seconds before she realized it was her turn to speak, a few more seconds before she could think of what to say. "Natalie, Sam and I…we aren't engaged…"

Natalie eyed the ring. "I _don't _think my eyes are deceiving me…"

Jules uncomfortably slid her right hand over her left. "I'm thinking about it," she hedged.

"You told him maybe? _Maybe_? Jules, come on…even I can admit my brother's a catch. And he is _crazy _about you. And you're crazy about him, too, I can tell. Why _wouldn't _you say yes? It's not like you have to sneak around anymore!"

"It has nothing to do with how I feel about Sam," Jules said steadily. "I love him and I know he loves me, but that doesn't mean we can just ride off into the sunset. Our bosses would _never _let us stay on Team One if we got married. We're already pushing it as it is."

Natalie folded her arms. "Yeah, actually, it is about how you feel about Sam. Do you love him enough for a job that probably has a crappy salary not to matter or not?"

"It's not that simple…"

"Why not?" Natalie demanded, putting her hands on her hips. Clearly, she was offended by Jules's reticence. "It's a job. This is _Sam _we're talking about here. Really, Jules…" she huffed. "I need to get to work. Don't think too long, and, for the love of God, don't make a really huge mistake."

For once, Jules wasn't sad to see Sam's sister go. Natalie didn't know what she was talking about. _Of course _she loved Sam more than a crappy paying job, but that wasn't all the SRU was. It was her, Sam, Spike, Ed, Greg, Raf… She thought of Lew, who _should _have been a part of that list for a long, long time. Who should have gotten married and had kids someday. Who thought he _would _right up until the instant it took for that future to disappear. No pretty dresses. No honeymoon spent extreme hiking on remote trails with no outhouses. No brown-eyed kids with unruly blond hair. Wait. Those weren't things Lew wanted… "Well I'll be damned," she murmured to herself, twisting the ring back and forth on her finger.

* * *

><p><strong>After dealing with <strong>one call on top of the other, Team One returned to the barn to change, get their stuff, and head home. For once, Greg was leaving at the same time as the rest of the team, since he had a son to see, and was in the locker room bantering with the other guys. All except Sam, who'd been pensive all day. It hadn't shown in the quality of his work, but everyone could tell he had something on his mind. Most of them chalked it up to what happened to Jules and left him alone about it. Greg was pretty sure it was more than that, but he still left him alone. Spike _knew _it was more than that because Natalie had called to rant and rave and declare she was disowning Jules if she picked the SRU over 'The Ring'…but he left it alone, too. As he had told Natalie, it was _their_ lives. It was up to them to make it work. As logical as he'd thought he'd sounded, he'd had to spend a good fifteen minutes talking her down so she wouldn't go back to the hospital to browbeat Jules into eloping.

"I do believe this is the first time in a while I've been able to be home to help with dinner in a while," Ed declared. "See you gentlemen on Monday. Oh, hey, Greg? I'm sure Sophie would want me to tell you that you and Dean are welcome to stay for dinner."

"I just might take you up on that, Eddie, my friend." The original plan was just to pick his teenaged son up from the Lane house and continue on his way home, but he was tired and could cook for Dean, as well as Marina, tomorrow as planned.

"Hey! Where's my invite?" Raf demanded as he shut his locker.

Ed smirked. "Sorry Raf, guess you didn't hear. There's a seniority threshold for eating at my table…the three of you ain't hit it yet."

Spike scoffed. "He's lying, I've eaten at his place…he just doesn't like you like that."

"Not cool, man, not cool," Raf shook his head. "Alright, guys, I'm out. Have a good weekend."

"You, too," Greg said as he and Ed followed him out.

Spike started to follow suit, but he hesitated at the door, teetering on the edge of tossing his on advice out the window. "Ah, screw it," he muttered under his breath. "Hey, Sam? I know it's none of my business but I've never seen you _or _Jules as happy as you have been, so I've gotta say…don't let her go without a fight. If it comes to that, I mean. Make it work." With that, he made his exit.

Sam scratched the back of his head. He'd been grappling with how to make it work all day. And how was it that, now that Spike was seeing his sister, he always seemed to be in his business? Okay, not _always_. Just lately. It was probably Natalie's fault.

* * *

><p><strong>Jules was determinedly <strong>trying to recreate the Eiffel Tower out of bland chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas when the aroma of mandarin chicken and other, equally delicious, scents tickled her nostrils. She looked up with her eyes lit up by a brilliant smile and looked at Sam. "I have never been so happy to see a takeout bag in my life!"

"Well, I aim to please," Sam responded as he settled himself into his chair and moved her plate out of the way. "Nice craftsmanship."

She scrunched her face up at him. "Whatever, I was bored."

They bantered comfortably over dinner and Sam told her about the calls they'd gotten that day. Once the food was gone, they sat in _un_comfortable silence while each waited for the other to broach the hot topic. Suddenly they both burst into speech at the same time.

"So, I've been thinking about it and I…" Sam began.

"I think we should look at this…" Jules started.

"Me, first," Sam insisted, taking a deep breath. "I've thought about this all day. I know how much the team means to you…"

"Sam—"

"…that's why you walked away the first time. And you'd think I would have learned after that…"

"_Sam_!" Jules was horrified. Was he taking it back now? Was that even allowed? He told _her _to think about it. That made it _her _call…and this wasn't it!

"…but I've worked it all out now. If you say you'll marry me…" He paused and took a deep breath, then let that breath out in a whoosh of words. "…I'll leave Team One. You can stay."

Jules deflated a little, the indignation slipping right out of her. "Really? You'd leave the team for me?"

He nodded, looking distinctly unhappy about it. "Yeah, I would. For us. I should have a long time ago if that was what it took."

Jules pressed her lips together so they wouldn't tremble, then she shook her head. She even managed a slight laugh. "Braddock, you sure know how to give a girl heart palpitations. For a second there you had me thinking…never mind. I just hope you didn't turn in your letter of resignation yet, because Sarge might have a full blown heart attack if he loses us both…"

Sam tilted his head to the side, hardly daring to think she meant what he thought she did. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you aren't the only one who's had a long day to think things through, and I've come to the conclusion that you and me, we can be our own family. You me, and any kids we have. I'm thinking two, but I'm open to negotiation. And I was thinking that I would leave when the kids started coming anyway, so it would just be happening sooner rather than later. You guys already need to find a replacement for me, so that'll be that. Oh, and while we're talking about my thoughts…" She flashed the ring on her finger and arched an eyebrow. "Right about now, I'm thinking you should take this off for like two seconds, ask me properly, and then slide it right back where it was."

Sam tried not to laugh as he said, "I love you." Gaining control of himself, he slid the ring off her finger. "Should I get down on one knee, too?"

"Uh-uh, I might pop my stitches twisting my head. You can come a little closer, though," she prompted, patting the bed.

He obediently sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay, here goes. Jules… I love you. It wasn't instantaneous like love at first sight or anything like that. The longer I knew you, the more familiar your strength, beauty, integrity, and compassion became to me, the more I could feel myself falling until I found myself deeply and irrevocably in love with you. You've made my life full when I didn't realize it was half-empty. You've healed me when I thought I was damaged goods. You make me feel like I can conquer the world, but only if you're standing beside me, supporting me, loving me. You're it for me. So, Julianna Callaghan, will you marry me?"

"Ugh, you're gonna me go all girly and cry," Jules lamented, sniffling a little. "Yes, Sam, I will marry you." She returned the kiss he leaned over to give her, then waved her hand. "Okay, now give me my ring back." The both laughed slightly as he slid the ring back into place and kissed the back of her hand.

**A/N: Writing this chapter made me happy. Just had to put that out there. Peace.**


	6. You'll Be in My Heart

_**Thump-thump….thump-thump…thump-thump…creeeak…**_

Jules opened her eyes when she heard something besides the beat of Sam's heart and saw Greg poking his head in the door. She grinned sleepily as she lifted her head from its resting place against Sam's chest. "Hey, Sarge. Come on in," she said as she gave Sam a little nudge. It took a couple of _not-_so-gentle nudges to get him moving.

"Oh, hey, Boss," he said thickly.

"Hey," Greg said, stepping more fully into the room. "Just dropping in to check on things."

"Well, thanks for coming by," Jules said. "I really wanted to talk to you."

Recognizing his cue without any overt signs from Jules, Sam woke up a little more and slid his arm from under her body in order to get up. "I'm going to see what I can find for breakfast," he said, stretching his back. Jules had been adamant that she wanted to tell Greg on her own sooner rather than later.

"Something light," Jules requested. "I'm not that hungry."

Sam nodded, and then walked past Greg to leave the room.

Greg sighed heavily, and then smiled thinly at Jules. "Here we are again."

"Here we are again," she echoed. "Sit, I really did want to talk to you about something. It's kind of important and I want to get it out before I lose my nerve."

Greg looked at her dubiously. "You? I didn't think that was possible," he mocked her even as he grimly thought to himself that he was finally going to learn what it was that contributed to Sam's mood the previous day.

Jules stuck her tongue in her cheek as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you trying to say I never shut up?"

"Who, me? Nah…" He shook his head as he sat down in the rather uncomfortable metal chair beside the bed. "What's going on, Jules?" he asked, suddenly serious. Only he could switch topics so abruptly and make it seem like as smooth a transition as he did.

"Sam…asked me to marry him," Jules said, resolving that it was best to just get it out there without beating around the bush. She watched emotions ranging from joy to concern flit across his face before a grave mask fell into place. When he looked down at her hands, she made no effort to hide the ring.

"You said yes." It was a statement, not a question, but she nodded her affirmation anyway. "Jules…" He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to be happy for them, but…

"You don't have to say it, I know. That's why I'm not coming back this time."

"No." Greg's refusal was both instantaneous and adamant. "Jules, this team is _not _this team if you're not on it."

"Well would you rather Sam left?" Jules challenged him with a weak laugh.

"I don't want _either _of you to leave. It wasn't easy to swing that, you know," he added pointedly.

"I know, and you have no idea how much I—we—appreciate everything you've done for us…but can you honestly say the commander _wouldn't_ have a cow?" When Greg didn't immediately respond, Jules pressed, "Do you want for us not to get married and both stay on the team?"

"If I had it my way, you guys could do whatever you want. I trust you both not to let it interfere with your work."

"And I love you for that, but you know it has to be one or the other. The commander…the chief…"

"It's _my _team."

"And they're _your _bosses. You make allowances for us and it's _your _job and you're the one the team can't go on without."

"You're wrong."

"You're stubborn. Don't you know how hard this is for me? Giving up my family?"

"What? Jules, now you're talking crazy. You're not talking about giving us up; you're talking about leaving a job."

"But if I leave SRU, I'm not…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on right there. You listen to me and you listen good, ya hear? I don't care what you do or whether or not I agree with your decisions. You are family. Hell, you're like the daughter I never had. That's forever. You hear me?" She nodded meekly, an odd sight for Greg, and he hugged her gently. "You're gonna have some time off. Think about what you're doing before you hand in your papers, okay? Would you do that, please?"

"Okay, Sarge."

"I mean it."

"Okay."

Sam cleared his throat. "Banana and OJ okay?"

Jules smiled at him. "Perfect."

Greg stood and walked over to stand in front of the other man. "I ought to be pissed at you…but congratulations anyway, man." He gave him a brief hug. "See you soon, Jules." He left.

"How was it?" Sam asked cautiously.

Jules wrinkled her nose. "He's in denial. Good morning, by the way."

Sam's eyes twinkled when he returned her belated greeting and handed over her breakfast.

"So, I was thinking I'd ask Wordy if there are any openings in Guns and Gangs," she remarked as she pulled back the peel of her banana so she could take a bite.

"Really?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Why so shocked? You didn't expect me to sit around the house doing nothing all day, did you?"

Sam shrugged. "No, I guess not."

"Well you guess right. And you know what else?"

"No, what?"

"We're getting _married_." Her eyes shown with gleeful excitement.

"Yeah, we are," he responded with a slight laugh, happy to see _her _so happy about it.

"And I don't have to plan a thing!"

Sam frowned. "How do you figure that?"

"Natalie's going to plan everything."

"No."

"So we can just relax and all we have to say is…"

"No."

"I do. What? What is it?"

"My sister is not planning our wedding!"

"Well, Sam, she might as well, I mean, if she dos this kind of thing for strangers, she might as well for us. I don't see why _you_ should have to stress about making reservations and all that jazz," she added pointedly, letting him know in a roundabout way that _she _sure as hell wasn't.

"You lost me. What's this about her doing stuff for strangers?"

"Uh…her job?" Seeing the blankness on his face, Jules groaned. "She didn't tell you yet. Act surprised. And _proud_." She knew the latter would mean more to his sister than the former.

"Natalie has a job? Wow. And hey, I _am _proud."

"Yeah, okay, you can cut back on the surprised part a little," Jules quipped.


	7. By Your Side

**A/N: Kind of a filler chapter to get some things out of the way. Enjoy! **

**When the team returned from **diffusing a workplace hostage situation, they were pleased to find Jules waiting for them in the barn. Well, all except Andrea, who'd heard of the legendary Jules Callaghan whom she'd been chosen to replace, but heretofore had never met, but had been warned she wasn't permanently replacing. Now she could pretty much feel herself fading into obscurity as the guys all moved forward to hug her, even Raf who'd been telling her to a call he'd gone on that was similar to the one they'd just been on. He'd just stopped talking to her mid-sentence. She chewed her bottom lip and waited to see whether one of her teammates was going to introduce her or if she was going to have to introduce herself.

"You look _way _too happy," Ed remarked. "You really that happy to have so much paid leave?" he asked skeptically. If anything, too much free time would drive her crazy.

"Nope!" Jules reached for Sam's hand. "We're getting married."

"What? You mean you settled for Samtastic, here?" Spike asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Congrats, you guys! Did you know about this?" Ed asked Greg, who looked less than thrilled. The other man gave a brisk nod.

"We wanted to wait and tell you guys together," Sam said as Jules looked to Greg, silently begging his acceptance with her eyes.

Receiving his barely perceptible nod, she declared, "You guys, I'm not coming back to the team."

The team fell into wide-eyed silence. "You're kidding, right?" Raf demanded, his voice dripping with disbelief.

She smiled sadly. "'Fraid not." She explained her reasoning and how she wanted to avoid both her _and _Sam being forced off the team, then noticed the woman hanging back a short distance away from the group. "Hey. You must be Andrea."

"Yeah. Hi," she said, coming forward with her hand held out.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Andrea, this is Jules," Ed said.

"So I figured. Nice to meet you, Jules. You're leaving some pretty big shoes to fill," she acknowledged.

"You'll manage. That's why they chose you. Right boys?"

Andrea felt a little better with the team's agreement, even if they weren't that enthusiastic about it. She got where they were coming from. They all clearly loved this woman and she was effectively abandoning them.

"So, I'm betting you didn't tell Natalie, yet?" Spike asked Sam. It was the only way he could think of that he hadn't already heard the news of their engagement seeing as his girlfriend wasn't the best at keeping things to herself.

"Not yet," Sam confirmed. Jules hadn't wanted to set Natalie off while she was stuck in a hospital bed unable to escape her future sister-in-law's bubbliness.

Ed pulled Greg aside. "Boss…"

"It was their news to share, Eddie. Besides, I was kinda hoping she'd change her mind and stay on the team."

"Is that allowed?"

"I don't know, but dammit Eddie, she belongs on this team."

"Hey, Boss, you're preaching to the choir here."

"Yeah, I know…I swear, if I had the final say, this wouldn't even be an issue."

Ed patted him on the shoulder, then returned to the throng, leaving Greg to his thoughts, which were travelling along the 'if only' track. There _had _to be a way to prove what he believed, that Jules and Sam could work together without endangering other people.

"Hey, Sarge, you coming?" Jules called out. "First round's on Ed!"

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys there."

* * *

><p>"<strong>Nat? I don't think this one's me, either…"<strong> Jules declared with thinly disguised disdain as she twisted to look at the feathers that made her feel like a peacock. A fat peacock when one took in the poufy skirt. She'd only tried it on to escape the latest monstrosity Natalie had started cooing over. Hopefully she'd have moved on by the time Jules was ready to try on another dress.

"Come out, let me see!"

Jules huffed, then gathered up as much of her skirt as she could and walked out of the changing room.

"That looks amazing! You really don't like it?"

"I really don't," Jules confirmed. "Seriously, Natalie, all of these dresses are just…too much. I'm not into the whole… big, poufy, starched tulle skirt that doubles as a camping tent…thing. I don't want a train. I don't want _feathers_… I want…"

"Simple."

"Yes. Simple."

"Okay, sit tight and let me see what I can find."

"Am I allowed to sit in this?" Jules asked, afraid to crush the feathers.

Natalie just laughed and walked away.

"That was actually a serious question!" Jules called after her. She was about ready to change back into her street clothes and bolt. The only thing keeping her there was the fear of what Natalie would choose if left to her own devices.

* * *

><p>"<strong>I still don't get why<strong> Natalie blocked off the whole afternoon for wedding attire shopping. It took us…what? An hour, tops?" Sam asked as he taped a box shut.

"Tops," Spike agreed, "but we're guys. All we needed to do was find the right colors. It's the dress that needs that afternoon," he pointed out as he wrapped a picture frame and set it inside of a box. Because of the role he'd played in saving Jules's life, he'd received the honor of best man by default.

Since they'd finished their assigned task so early, they were working on packing up Sam's apartment. He was officially moving into Jules's house before the wedding since he was practically living there since she got hurt anyway. He'd offered to let Natalie take over his lease, but she'd turned him down. Next thing he heard, Spike had offered to let her move in with him so she wouldn't be out on the streets… He shook his head over her antics, but didn't say anything about it.

When Sam's cell phone rang, he reached over to scoop it up, and looked at the caller ID. "It's my dad," he observed with a grimace before answering. "Hello?"

Spike listened to Sam's side of the conversation and gleaned that he had tentative dinner plans with his parents for that night. _Can you say ambush? _he mused. When Sam hung up, Spike remarked, "You know, you still owe me dinner."

"Well, I'd offer to pay for your food _tonight_, but my dad's footing the bill…"

"Wait, what?" His phone rang before Sam could explain, and he answered it, seeing it was Natalie.

Sam smirked as his friend paled. He could easily imagine what Spike was hearing.

* * *

><p><strong>Natalie was patting herself <strong>on the back for finally finding a dress that made Jules light up when her phone rang. "Hi, Mom! Really?" She quirked up an eyebrow at Jules, who was watching her curiously. "Dinner, tonight? Sure. I'm sure Spike would love to meet you, too. Same goes for Jules…" Both of Jules's eyes widened comically. "See you tonight."

"Did you just…?"

"Mom says Dad said Sam said you'd be there," Natalie explained as she pulled up Spike's number. "Spike! Hey! Guess what? My parents are in town and they want to have a family dinner. Mom's really looking forward to meeting you."

Jules called Sam, who answered on the first ring. "Did you tell your parents we'd have dinner with them? Seriously? You couldn't at least give me a day's notice so I could get ready?"

Natalie lowered her phone a little to say, "Don't worry, hun, you don't need that much work. You'll be ready in a jiff." After restoring her phone to her ear, she spoke into it. "No, not you, _Jules_. _You _seriouslyneed to do something about your hair."

* * *

><p>"<strong>I swear, they didn't tell me<strong> they were coming," Natalie insisted when the four of them met up in the lobby.

"For what it's worth, I believe her," Jules testified, looping her arms around Sam's waist. Both of their men looked like they'd been force-fed a bottle of vinegar each, whereas she had had a chance to mellow out a little. What did she have to worry about? If Sam's parents didn't like her, it wasn't a big deal since they didn't spend a lot of time here. And it wasn't as if Sam was on great terms with his dad anyway, so uncomfortable family dinners would be kept to a minimum.

Natalie went about diligently kissing away Spike's frowns until he laughed and loosened up a little. "I still think your parents are gonna hate me."

"Are you kidding me? You'll be the first guy I bring forward they'll actually like…" Natalie confidently assured him.

"She's probably right, Spike. You've seen one of her least favorable picks," Sam pointed out before dropping his head to whisper in Jules's ear, "Let's get out of here after my dad says his piece." She nodded her acquiescence. He was positive his dad wanted something. It was the only reason he could think of that would bring his parents into town because his father wasn't the kind of man to fly off on a whim. Not even to visit his kids.

"Ugh, don't even remind me about that," Natalie lamented, laying her head on Spike's shoulder.

"Natalie. Samuel."

"Dad! Mom!" Natalie pulled away from Spike and hurried forward to hug each of them in turn.

Jules looked around and muttered under her breath, "Who the hell's Samuel?"

Sam heard her and tried not to laugh. "Mom, Dad, this is Jules."

"Or Juliana if you're gonna call him Samuel," Jules corrected. Nicknames were supposed to be a sign of affection and she wasn't about to one-up her fiancé with his own parents.

"Uh….yeah, you can just call me Spike," Spike said, without offering his proper name as an option. Truth be told, he was so used to the nickname he might not even respond to Michelangelo unless it was delivered by a certain Italian woman he like to call 'Ma'.

"Jules, Spike, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you both," Natalie and Sam's mother declared, hugging each of them as though they were already family. "You can call me Maggie."

"Juliana. _Spike_," the general acknowledged.

Spike grimaced and rethought his stance on the name. "Yeah, uh, sir? Mike'll do. Can we, you know, eat now?"

They all headed to the dining room, where they had a table reserved near the dance floor, and took their seats.

"It's so nice to see my children so happy," Maggie beamed. "Sammy's getting married…My Natalie's somewhat settled for once… I really just had to come see it for myself."

Jules smiled. It was hard not to when she was being praised by her future mother-in-law. "Are you coming back for the wedding?" she asked.

"Of course." The brusque response came from the general.

"How did you and Sam meet?" Maggie asked.

"I thought he was drawing a gun to shoot me and almost took him down."

Maggie blinked in surprise. The general raised an eyebrow. Natalie just stared.

Sam almost choked on his water. "You never even touched me!" he protested.

Spike snorted. "You would have been down on the ground if the commander hadn't shown up."

"It was just a photo," Sam assured his mother.

"You sounded like a gun enthusiast and then you reached into your jacket," Jules recounted.

"I was instantly captivated and not making the best first impression because of it," he countered.

Jules grinned. "Nice excuse."

"Very nice," Spike concurred.

"And you two?" Maggie inquired cautiously, turning to Spike and Natalie.

"I visited Sam at work and there he was. Nothing unusual." Natalie shrugged.

Her mother seemed relieved. "So, Spike, you work with Sam? You're in the SRU?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've worked with Jules longer. Or I did, anyway."

"Jules? You're a police officer as well?"

"Yes…" she didn't miss the brief glance between husband and wife. "I transferred out of the SRU, though."

"Why's that, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well…it was time," she hedged.

"Mom, what's with the inquisition?" Sam asked, eyeing his father.

"What inquisition? I'm just trying to get to know the bride-to-be a little better. As well as the boyfriend," she smiled at Spike.

"All you need to know is that they're good people," Sam said, still looking directly at his father because it was primarily _him_ Sam was addressing. He'd figured out what their game was. Let Mom do the talking while he did the judging.

"No…" Jules countered. "All they need to know is that I love you and I've got your back.

"Well I think they should know the waiter's waiting for our order and I'm hungry," Spike muttered.

Natalie grinned, and then cleared her throat. "I'm hungry, too, for what it's worth."

Over dinner, Maggie engaged Jules, Spike, and Natalie in idle chit chat while Sam and the general engaged each other in what almost measured up to a staring contest. Finally, halfway through desert, the general said, "You still won't return to the army, will you?"

"No, sir, I will not. As a matter of fact, now I'm even _more_ sure this is where I belong."

"Because of her."

"Because of _him_," Jules cut in, her conversation having gone quiet when they started speaking.

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, dear," Maggie interjected.

"This is where I want to be," Sam reaffirmed. "If this is all you guys came here for…"

"We wanted to meet Jules and Spike," Maggie insisted. "Well, that and make sure we were welcome to attend the wedding."

"Of course you're invited!" Natalie cut in, having gone over the guest list herself.

"Invited and welcomed are two different things, believe me. I've hosted enough parties to know."

"Of course you are," Sam said.

Maggie discreetly indicated her husband.

"You _both _are," Jules clarified immediately, earning a grateful smile from Maggie _and _Natalie. She was so glad introducing Sam to her brothers had gone so much smoother than this. All they'd had to do was hit a hockey rink, work out some testosterone-fueled aggressions, and badabing badaboom it was as though Sam were an old family friend. It was different with parents, though. Jules just hoped this was the general edging a foot toward reconciling with his son.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that night, <strong>Jules laid in bed, curled into Sam's side, and was half-asleep when he said, "I think he liked you."

"Yeah?" she asked huskily.

"Yeah."

"Good."

"I think my mom wants to take you home with her."

"Too bad you're not into loaning me out." She yawned. "I can't wait until all this wedding stuff is over and we're married."

"Me either. Wanna elope?"

Her hair tickled his chest when she shook her head. "I didn't say I didn't want the wedding. I want to celebrate with everyone. I just want to be married to you."

"The only way you're not my wife is legally. We're already married in my heart."

Smiling, and no longer sleepy, she turned her head and placed a lingering kiss on his chest.


	8. You Found Me

**A/N: Remember a few chapters ago when I hinted that I had some evil tendencies? Well...Read on.**

"**Hey, Roy, I'm making a coffee run**. Want anything?" Jules offered, using her feet to push her chair back from her desk.

"Yeah, uh…a double double?" He started to turn back to his computer screen, but then he caught the odd look on her face. "What?"

"That's what your brother orders," she admitted sheepishly, to which he promptly rolled his eyes. He was used to her little moments of nostalgia by now.

She was thinking about the epic time Ed went all coffee shop on Sam's newbie ass. She doubted she'd have as much fun with the guys from Guns and Gangs, but she was open to the possibility.

"Did I hear something about coffee?" Wordy perked up. Although he sympathized with the team's loss, he was thrilled to have his friend in his department.

"That you did," Jules confirmed. "Whatcha havin'?"

Roy's cell phone rang and he got up and walked away to take the call. Neither Jules nor Wordy found this odd considering how noisy the bullpen could get. Jules seriously missed the quiet of the barn. Hell, she missed the _team_. Wordy nudged her. "It gets easier, kid."

She gave him a half smile. "Sorry, what'd you want again?"

He shook his head. "You're hopeless," he chided.

She crinkled her nose. "I'll just grab your usual.

"Atta girl."

Roy walked back in and asked Wordy, "You mind coming with? I need to check out a tip one of my CIs just called in."

Wordy grimaced. "Is it going to take more than a couple of hours? I have a school play to get to this evening."

"I could go," Jules piped up, eager to do something besides sitting behind a desk today.

"Aren't you off soon?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, and then I won't be back for _two _weeks, when I get back from the honeymoon. Come on…gimmie a proper send-off."

"Don't you have last-minute wedding stuff to take care of?" Wordy asked, amused.

"Do I look like a bridezilla to you?" Jules asked loftily. "Natalie's taking care of everything for me. Sam's sister," she added for Roy's benefit. "Give me five to make a quick phone call?" she asked Roy as though it was a given she was riding shotgun. At his nod, she pulled out her cell phone and called Natalie. "Hey, I'm going to be a little late."

"Okay, but you realize I need to wash your hair, do your nails, wax your legs, and cleanse your pores, right? And that you still need to get in 8 hours of sleep?"

Jules shuddered. She'd already received a big fat _no _when she asked if she could skip the primping, and just get dressed and go. "I won't be _that _late. Just let yourself in and wait for me. Order a pizza or something for dinner." And so we reach her primary reason for calling. Sam had decided to bow to at least one tradition and sleep elsewhere tonight, and Jules wasn't in the mood to cook.

"And reclog your pores? Are you demented? Don't worry, I'll think of something. See you later."

As different as they were, Jules was happy Natalie was going to be her sister. She'd never had one before and she was pretty sure she'd be lost without Natalie to obsess over everything on her behalf. That didn't mean she wanted the blonde trying to cook for her, but Natalie hung up before she could say so.

"Hey, what about my coffee?" Wordy demanded, walking out with Roy.

"Sorry, Officer Wordsworth, you're on your own. Officer Lane, if you don't mind making a pit stop, I'd like a regular coffee, with cream, no sugar."

* * *

><p><strong>Sam was just not <strong>feeling the new recruit. It was nothing personal and, unlike with Donna, he really _tried _to like Andrea. She pulled her weight as best she could, he guessed. She just wasn't Jules…who he trusted to work as an extension of himself out in the field when it counted. And then there was the fact that Raf still needed a little smoothing out as well, so they were cross-training _two _people at the same time…

"Hey there, buddy, take it easy on that bag….I'm sure it's sorry for whatever it did to you," Ed joked from one of the exercise bikes.

Sam flashed a grin, but kept hitting the bag.

"So, Samtastic, wedding's tomorrow. That mean drinks tonight on you?" Spike asked from a treadmill.

"Isn't the best man supposed to foot the bill?" Andrea asked before Sam could respond, which, inexplicably, irritated him.

"I think I missed that memo. See, the one I got was the one that said 'Samtastic, who is grateful you're letting him go home with you to partake in the consumption of your mom's lasagna and even sleep on the couch, will be happy to take you out for drinks to express his gratitude.' Which one did you see?" Spike cracked.

"Hot call, Team One, home invasion in progress, sending the address to your phones." The exercise equipment was abandoned as Winnie continued. "Shots fired, neighbor said a couple lives there with an infant, looking up the homeowners' names right now…Henry Frank's the only name on the deed."

Greg halted on his way to the equipment room where his team was already suiting up. "The same Henry Frank we pulled off a rooftop a few months ago?" He asked Winnie.

"The very one," Winnie confirmed with a frown as she pulled up the associated file and sent that to the team as well.

Troubled, Greg went to go suit up. "There's something hinky about this, guys," he cautioned before reminding them of who one of the possible victims were.

"_Another _hot call involving this guy only a few months apart?" Ed asked incredulously. He thought hinky was an understatement.

* * *

><p><strong>Natalie pulled into Jules's driveway<strong>, not yet accustomed to thinking of it as Jules ad _Sam's _driveway, yet, and reached over the console to grab the bags she'd brought with her. This was the closest she could get to getting Jules to agree to a spa day, so she wasn't pulling any punches. She was totally looking forward to an evening of pampering someone who was damn near impossible to pamper.

After walking up to the porch, she set her bags down, and then stooped down, peeled back the welcome mat, and felt for the loose floorboard she knew hid a spare key. Finding it, she unlocked and opened the front door, replaced the key, and picked up her bags before entering the house and bumping the door shut with her hip.

Humming the song that had just been playing on the car radio, she checked the food supply. After a few minutes, she found herself considering pizza after all. She wasn't yet comfortable enough to cook without Spike's mom looking over her shoulder (which was going to suck when the older woman moved to Italy to take care of her own elderly mother, even if Natalie _was _looking forward to her and Spike having the house to themselves) so their options were limited to salad and _fruit _salad.

Mulling over her dilemma, Natalie dispersed hair, nail and facial products between the kitchen and the living room before taking the bag containing the body stuff upstairs to the master bedroom and adjoining bathroom. She was setting scented candles around the tub when she heard a floorboard creak. "Sam?" she called out, startled. She'd expected to have the house to herself for a few hours at least since Jules was at work and Sam was spending the night with Spike.

When no one responded, she went out into the bedroom and poked her head out into the hallway. Seeing someone besides her brother coming up the stairs, someone she didn't recognize at all, Natalie immediately retracted her head and slammed the door shut, locking the door as the stranger seemingly threw his all his weight against it on the other side.

* * *

><p>"<strong>So…what lead are we following up on?" <strong>Jules asked Roy, keeping her eyes on the house he'd pointed out to her.

"My CI says the top brass of the Green Gang resurfaced and might be holing up here," he explained.

"Aha…gunning for a promotion, are we?" Jules supposed. The leader of that particular gang had eluded being identified, let alone caught, for years.

"Just doing my job." The humble claim wasn't at all convincing, but all he got from Jules for it was a brief smirk. "We're just waiting for a gang member to make a drop so I can get permission to put the house under surveillance, starting _yesterday_," he added, handing her a file filled with faces and names.

Jules flipped through it, focusing more on the faces than the data, then froze on a face that was pretty much seared in her brain.

"What?" Roy prompted, flicking a glance at the photo of a known acquaintance of the gang's before turning his attention back toward the house, where the front door had opened and a woman had stepped outside.

"I know her. Kind of. She shot me," Jules said, spellbound by the mug shot.

"Emily Ames."

"Yeah."

"No, I mean that's her. Right there," Roy said, pointing.

Jules looked up with wide, stunned eyes. "She's supposed to be in jail!"

A car pulled up in front of the house and a man emerged, and then reached into the backseat for an oddly shaped package. "Is that a…?"

"Baby," Jules breathed.

* * *

><p><strong>The team's feeling that something was off <strong>was intensified when they arrived on the scene and discovered that the patrolling officers who'd arrived at the scene was the first indication to the neighbors that anything was amiss. Nobody had responded when they'd knocked on the door and the officers weren't sure anyone was home.

"Winnie, can you get the person who called this in on the line, please?" Greg requested as he attempted to call Henry Frank's cell phone. Ed broke the team up to do some recon and find a way into the moderately sized single-story house or at least get some eyes in. "Nobody goes in until we figure out what's going on here," Greg added.

Sam and Andrea took the back of the house while Ed and Raf checked out the front of the house. Spike was running the command post.

"What do you make of it?" Andrea asked as they looked for a crack in the curtains or signs of forced entry.

"I'm not trying to jump to conclusions," Sam hedged. He had a feeling someone was playing with them, but, beyond that…

They both spotted the broken window at the same time and Sam reported, "Signs of forced entry." After getting close enough to see inside, he added, "Broken window in the master bedroom, two people tied up on the floor, can't see them clearly because the bed's in the way."

"Hey," Andrea called out in a voice a little over a whisper. "Can you hear me? We're here to help."

"Boss, they're not moving," Sam reported.

"Boss, the call was made on a throwaway phone and no one's picking up," Winnie reported.

"Boss, let us go in," Andrea requested. "Nobody else is in the room and they could be hurt or dying."

"Any sign of the baby?" Greg asked.

"Negative," Sam reported. "Nothing but static coming from the baby monitor," he added.

"Possible child abduction?" Raf asked.

"Boss, we need to get in there," Ed advised.

"All right, go," Greg consented after a moment's hesitation.

Sam gave Andrea a leg up so she could climb in through the broken window, and she immediately rounded the bed to look at the couple, who were both lying face down on the floor with plastic wrap taped around their heads. "Dead…no gunshot wounds," she reported as Sam was hefting himself through the window. She turned the man over and shouted, "Bomb!"

* * *

><p><strong>Cradling her baby boy <strong>for the first time since he had been whisked out of the prison mere moments after being born, Emily Ames felt the cold satisfaction that only overdue revenge could bring about. She had lost everything. Her husband, her baby, her power… She could never get Scott back, but she was now seizing the rest of it. By the time anyone realized she'd escaped the prison, she would have already gone underground. All she was waiting on was confirmation that her revenge had been carried out.

The phone rang and she answered it. "Go."

"Julianna Callaghan is dead."

Smiling, Emily Ames hung up.


	9. Blink

**A/N: You know those times where you stress over writing something for a couple of weeks and then in under a day it goes from like 300 words about 3.5k+ words without your noticing? Or is that just a me thing? Anyway, it was so hard to time things right...never again will I try to make 3 different things happen at about the same time and converge. Yeah, I say that now... It's late, I'm tired, and I'm hoping I wasn't too delirious when I wrote the end. I just figured you guys have waited long enough...so here you go :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Natalie shrieked as the door strained<strong> under the stranger's assault on the other side of it, and stumbled backward as she desperately looked around in vain for some avenue of escape. The window, but would the door hold up long enough for her to get clear of it? She was scared to risk it.

_THUMP!_

She realized she was on the verge of hyperventilating and forced herself to slow down. She needed help.

_THUMP!_

She patted her empty, perfectly flat pockets. No cell. Frantic blue eyes landed on the nightstand and filled with relieved tears.

_THUMP!_

She couldn't let him get into the room. She had to buy time. Desperation drove out any feels of chipped nails as she started pushing and shoving the dresser along the carpeted floor. Her heels were making her clumsy, slowing her down, and she kicked them off. As the thumping continued, she managed to position the dresser, both nightstands, the armchair that was in the corner, and a floor lamp in front of the door. It was the floor lamp that made her realize that, at that point, she was either good. On that note, she lunged for the phone, which was, by then, sitting on the bed, and dialed 9-1-1. "Please…please…I need help! There's a man in the house and his trying to get in the room and…and…I don't hear him anymore."

On the other side of the door, Kirby Zimmerman had come to the conclusion that he wasn't getting through the door. This wasn't how the hit was supposed to go down. He was supposed to be in the house waiting for the right moment to pounce when she got home, but instead she'd beaten him there. Now he had to end it _fast _and get out of dodge.

A quick jog brought him to the rear end of the non-descript black sedan he'd left parked across the street. He popped the trunk, pulled out the false bottom, grabbed the modified Uzi that was revealed.

He'd been trying for subtlety, but he knew the end justified the means as far as Emily was concerned. Even if this did manage to blowback on her, which was unlikely since she'd be well on her way to Ireland by the time they even realized that somebody else had taken her place behind bars, he had her back. He always had, ever since her mom became his foster mother.

* * *

><p><strong>Andrea's cry of "Bomb!"<strong> was immediately followed by Greg and Ed's overlapping orders for everyone to fall back. Their voices were drowned out by an explosion as the house went up like a Roman candle. Greg automatically flinched back, but it was horror, not fear that widened his eyes. "Team, status," he barked, overcompensating for the shakiness he was trying to keep out of his voice. Raf and Ed checked in immediately. "Andrea? Sam?" he prompted, watching Ed and Raf make their way around to the back of the house to investigate. "Spike, get EMS here, now! Spike?" he prompted when he didn't receive an acknowledgement of his order. Greg yanked the van door open and found Spike sitting inside, haunted eyes staring into some place that only existed in his head.

"Boss, Sam's down. I think the blast knocked him back," Ed reported.

"And Andrea?" Greg asked grimly.

"Didn't make it out," Raf reported solemnly.

Greg was silent for a moment during which he internally battled the duel threats of self-doubt and grief. Then he stepped back into his role as sergeant. "Spike…hey, buddy, you with me?"

A shudder. A slow blink. A quick nod. "Yeah, boss. I'm here. EMS. Backup. On it."

Greg nodded. He knew the younger man was badly shaken, but he had faith in every one of his team members that they could push beyond any kind of adversity and do their jobs. There would be plenty of time to lick their collective wounds later. "We need a lead on that baby. There might not have been shots fired, but somebody was here today that shouldn't have been and I want to know what people saw." People usually noticed when things were out of place, even if they didn't always recognize the significance of it on their own.

"'m okay," Sam grunted finally. "I just had the wind knocked outta me a little."

"Still getting checked out," Greg responded authoritatively, even though he was just relieved to hear the ex-solder's voice. "Another team will probably be here to relieve us in…"

"Winnie, come again? What's going on?" Spike asked, frowning.

"Hang on," Greg said before switching channels so he could hear both sides of Spike's conversation with Winnie.

"—it's a mess here," Winnie was saying. "I was right about to tell you I think Guns and Gangs located your missing kid. According to Detective Lane, Emily Ames is somehow out of prison and just gained possession of the infant. I've already got Team Four mobilizing for that so I need to recall another team."

"Winnie, I thought Team Three was on deck?" Greg asked, startling Spike.

Winnie didn't miss a beat. "Workplace shooting. Hang on I have another call coming in."

"Leave the mic on," Greg requested, frowning.

She did as requested without asking why and Greg and Spike listened as a 9-1-1 operator reeled off the details of a home invasion that was in-progress, including the address.

"That's Jules' place," Greg spoke the thought as it popped into his head. "The bomb wasn't a killer trying to cover his tracks, it was a trap," he realized.

"Winnie, patch us in _now_," Spike requested urgently. He had a feeling it was another call related to the one they were on right now.

"…I don't know what he's doing out there," Natalie was crying. "I barricaded the door—

"Nat?" Spike broke in, shell-shocked.

"Spike," Greg muttered warningly.

"Spike!" Natalie exclaimed. "Help, I don't know what to do! I'm so scared!"

The understatement tore at his heart. To hell with protocol. "Just sit tight, we're on our way."

Greg placed his hand on Spike's shoulder, indicating he wanted to take over. "Natalie, this is Greg Parker, how many people are in the house?" he asked as Spike switched back over to the channel that the rest of the team was still on to apprise them of the situation.

"I don't know, only saw o—one and panicked, I'm sorry—

"No, no, Sweetheart, you did great. You did the right thing making sure nobody could get in the room. What room are you in?"

"The, uh, the master bedroom."

Ed stuck his head in the door. "Boss, we got a couple of unis here, they're gonna keep the scene contained. Let's roll."

"I wanna go, too," Spike insisted.

Greg covered his mic with his hand. "Spike…"

"We don't have time to argue over this, _please_," Spike pleaded.

"I'll take over in here," Raf offered, replacing Ed in the doorway. They could all hear an engine roaring to life outside, indicating that Ed hadn't wasted time arguing with Sam.

"All right, Raf? I want to know where Jules is right now."

"Already on it, Sarge," Raf responded as he took Spike's place.

Greg spoke into the mic as he and Spike climbed into an SUV. "Natalie, we'll be there in three minutes, can you do me a favor? Get on the floor and stay—" he broke off when he heard a rapid spat of gunfire on the other end of the line followed by a dial tone.

* * *

><p>"<strong>What's the ETA on my team?" <strong>Jules asked uneasily as she and Roy kept watch on the house currently occupied by two dangerous criminals (Roy had identified the other as Dane Bernthol), that they knew of, and a baby. She had the distinct feeling that things were about to go down fast, and was concerned about the danger that could pose to the baby.

Roy raised an eyebrow at her slip-up. "SRU's a little backed up. They had to call another team in."

Frowning, Jules was shaking her head before he finished. "That's going to take too long, we need to get the baby out of the house. I want to call in."

"You want to start negotiating?"

"I already have a history with one of the subjects."

"She shot you."

"Really? Huh. Must've slipped my mind…" She added an eye roll for good measure.

"Bernthol's cell's on file," Roy said, flipping through the gang file.

"See where they're at in locating the father," Jules dictated as she dialed the number and waited for the man to answer. As soon as he picked up, she said, "Hi, this is Jules Callaghan with the spe—with the Toronto Police Service," she caught herself. "Am I speaking to Dane Bernthol? Dane? You there? If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. Can I speak to Emily Ames? I'd really like to know how that baby's doing…" No responses to any of her inquiries, but she saw a flutter at one of the downstairs windows and pointed it out to Roy. "I really just want to talk. Make sure everything's okay."

Roy nudged her before filling her in on the reported shooting. She gave him an 'Aw, come on!' look before continuing to try and establish contact. "You wanna tell me what happened to Henry today? About why he—

"That bastard took my baby." It was Emily's voice that finally came over the line. "What did you do with Kirby?" she demanded.

"Kirby?"

"Zimmerman," Roy quietly deduced.

Jules nodded to show she understood.

"You made him lie just now, didn't you? Where is he?"

"Why do you think I made him lie to you, Emily? What about?"

"He said you were dead," the bitter woman spat.

That statement gave Jules pause seeing as it clearly wasn't true. Her phone beeped in her ear, signifying an incoming call, and she pulled it away from her ear to look at the screen. She frowned at the ID and showed Roy, gesturing for him to call the number. "Emily, how's the baby doing? Is he okay?"

"It's none of your business."

"It's just that I'm really concerned, is all," Jules gently insisted.

"Yeah, you're good at that, aren't you? Pretending to be concerned. Like all you want is for everyone to be okay no matter want."

"Yeah, she's right here, she's fine," Roy was saying. "She's in the middle of a negotiation right now, though, so…whoa, wait, is Ed okay?"

Jules slid her hand over the mouthpiece. "What?"

"There was a bomb at Henry Frank's place. They think it was a trap for the team. Raf said the new girl got caught in the explosion. Everybody else got lucky…"

When he hesitated, she prompted him. "What else?"

"They're responding to a home invasion at your place."

Her heart dropped into her stomach, and then kept falling. "Natalie's there."

"Jules…"

"Zimmerman told her I was dead."

"There were shots fired," Roy confirmed. "He must've _just _called…they'll get 'im," he assured her, knowing it probably didn't comfort her much. He needed her to focus and finish what she'd started, though. "You okay? You know you gotta…"

"I know," Jules whispered. "Emily? I know you feel like I let you down and I am so sorry for that. I'm sorry you don't feel like I care about what happens to you. But let's talk about what you've achieved today. Let's talk about the officer who died in an explosion you caused. The officer I'm willing to bet you didn't have anything against since she had nothing to do with what happened that day. Her name was Andrea. Or the young woman your friend just shot down…whose only crime was wanting to be a good sister by forcing a spa day that I didn't even want on me because she thought I needed a little pampering? Her name was _Natalie_." No response means she's listening, Jules reminded herself. She also reminded herself to take a breath. "How about that little boy in there? The one who might not have had the father you wanted him to have, but who _did _have one who _loved _him and who you took away from him. The one I'm betting you have within a foot of a gun. Do you know how much damage a bullet can do to an infant?"

"Jules…" Roy cautioned.

"I'd never let anyone hurt my baby!"

"You already have," Jules countered. "You killed his father and put him in a dangerous position. You, Kirby, Dane…none of you are just walking away from this. Two people are dead and you guys are going away for a long, long time if you give yourselves up…but I'm not so sure you'll go that route. I'm not so sure you won't try to run with the baby. I _am _sure that wherever you go, no matter where you hide, we _will find you _and we _will _take you in by force if necessary. I am sure I can't make any promises that your son won't be injured when whoever finds you, takes you down. That he won't be killed accidentally. I really, really don't think you want that to happen. In fact, I know you don't. You wanna know how I know? Because you wanted to _badly _for that baby in there to be safe, healthy, an propyl taken care of, that you got a paternity test instead of risking having an inaccurate family history on file. You had a husband who you loved, who loved you, and you were going to have the happy family you wanted so badly, and you gambled it all for the sake of that baby's wellbeing. Don't let that be for nothing, Emily. Don't hurt him anymore."

There was a long silence and Jules waited patiently for Emily to break it. Finally, she said brokenly, "I'm bringing him out."

"You're doing the right thing, Emily," Jules encouraged, clinging to her objectivity like a protective shield for the baby's sake. She disconnected while Roy checked his service revolver.

"You're doing good, Jules."

"I always do good, Roy," she cracked with a shadow of a smile as they got out of the car.

They waited beside the vehicle until Emily emerged from the house with the baby, then went to meet her halfway. She was just relinquishing the baby when a car came careening around the corner at breakneck speed.

* * *

><p><strong>Ed rattled off the license plate number <strong>of the sedan speeding away from the house to Winnie as Sam just waited for the SUV to slow enough for him to hop out of it. He saw the second-story window and everything Ed had drummed into his head about objectivity on the way over flew right out of his head. His sister was in there. The only sister he had left.

"Remember the Frank house?" Ed reminded Sam. "Wait for Spike so we can check…"

"He didn't have that kind of time," Sam snapped.

"We don't know that," Ed insisted. "Get up to the window, read the situation, and report back. Then wait for permission to enter. That's the plan. If you're not going to stick to it you can keep your ass in the car!"

They glared at each other as Ed coasted to a stop, then Sam got out of the car, which Ed took as his agreement or he would have stopped him.

Sam marched over to the house, climbed the few steps onto the porch (where the sight of the wide-open front door did nothing to dull the roaring in his ears), then climbed onto the railing and hoisted himself up onto the porch roof. He edged over to the window, heard nothing but glass crunching under his booted feet. It wasn't until he realized he couldn't even hear his own breathing that he realized he was holding his breath, but when he did realize, he wasn't inclined to exhale for the sake of doing so. He peeked inside, saw Natalie's still, tensed body on the floor, arms wrapped around her head, bare feet exposed, and closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't blame himself. There was no way he could have known. But if he'd just…taken off work a day earlier. Not even gone into work. He could have been here. Could've made a difference.

And then whoever had paired up with Andrea might have moved just quick enough to have made it into the room before she'd accidentally set off the bomb. Something else he could have blamed on himself. But this was _Natalie_. She was…tensed "Nat? Natalie?" he opened his eyes. "Nat?"

"Sam? What's it looking like up there?"

"Sam?" Natalie's voice shook as she stirred slightly.

"She's alive. Just stunned, I think. Door's still barricaded shut. He fired through the wall but he didn't get in," Sam reported. "Nat? Nat I'm right here. Come on. Come to the window. Let me get you out of here."

While Sam coaxed his sister off the floor and out of the window, Ed updated Greg and Spike, who slumped in the passenger seat with relief. Those few short minutes when he thought he'd lost her had felt like the longest, and _loneliest_, of his life. Which was funny when one took into account the fact that a few years ago she wasn't even _in _his life. It just went to show that sometimes love, and the way it made you feel, wasn't always logical. Sometimes it just was.

"We're gonna stay on the shooter," Greg declared.

"I'll be right behind you," Ed responded as they passed the house.

Jules squeaked (which she felt mildly mortified about for all of, say, a nanosecond) when Roy tossed an arm around her middle and lifted her bodily off the ground before dashing onto the sidewalk out of the car's way. The baby she was clutching only grunted as though they were inconveniencing him.

"Kirby!" Emily shouted. "Dane? Hurry!" The other man came barreling out of the house as the sedan screeched to a halt a breath away from Emily.

"Hurry up, they're coming!"

After casting a last, longing glance at the baby, Emily got into the car, which took off again as a big black SUV sped after it.

"Think that was your guy or mine?" Roy asked.

"What I _think _is you better put me down before mine sees you," Jules retorted.

"Sorry," Roy said sheepishly, setting her down.

"S'okay. Right, Pal?" She tilted her head a little to look at the baby. "We're okay."

"I'm going to call the station. Again."

"I think they'll be happy to hear from you this time. Two Green Gang members behind bars, maybe more after they lean on 'em and search the house…" Her grin faded as humor gave way to melancholy as another SUV sped by. "I gotta call Sam."

"Not if he's on the move."

"No…" Jules said thoughtfully. "There were two in the first SUV and I clearly made out Ed in the second one. They left him behind," she determined. "Why would they leave him behind?" She posed the question more to herself. She called Raf to check just because she already knew he was free to chit chat. "Where are you?" she asked.

"Command post at the Frank house…why?"

"Where's Sam?"

"Your house with Natalie…why are you asking me?"

"Because nobody tells me anything, damn it!"

"Uh…okay, then…I apologize. It's been a hectic…what? Ten minutes? Tell you what, from now on, I will stick strictly to the every other 60 seconds update. No…really. I swear. Scout's honor."

"Ah, shut up… Nat's really okay?"

"She's really okay. Well, in shock. Maybe a little rug burn. A few knick from shrapnel. Sounds like your bedroom took a harder hit than she did."

"Good. I can fix a bedroom. Talk to you in t-minus two minutes." She ended the call on his chuckle.

"Zimmerman screwed up?"

"Zimmerman screwed up," Jules confirmed. "Oh, hey, when you, you know, finally get around to calling the station…you wanna tell them to send somebody from child services seeing as this little guy currently has no parents to speak of?"

"Sure."

"You wanna hang out with the kid while I go home and hug my sister?"

"Sure…?"

"You're awesome…" She handed him the baby and managed, from years of experience with some ridiculous cases here and there, not to laugh at his clueless expression. "Roy, you've got a niece and a nephew."

"You say that like Ed trusted me to hold either of them for more than five minutes without dropping 'em."

"Did you?"

"Drop either of them? No."

"Well okay then, we're all good. You can get a ride back to the station, right?"

"It's my car…"

"Oh. Right." She shrugged. "Was that a yes or a no? Ah, never mind, I'll be back." She slid behind the wheel and found the keys still in the ignition. After adjusting the seat to better suit her height, she headed off in the direction the speeding cars had just come from. In comparison, she felt like some slow grandma when she was really going the limit.

It wasn't until she pulled up and saw the flashing lights of squad cars and an EMS vehicle that it hit her that her house, her pride and joy, was a _crime scene_. It was supposed to be her tomb. It would've been if Emily Ames had her way… She suddenly hoped Emily's pal Zimmerman was as bad a driver as he was a marksman and they all ran into a brick wall.

She got out of the car and strode over to the back of the EMS truck to smile at Natalie, but then ended up frowning at Sam. "What the hell happened to you?"

Both Braddock siblings looked at her as if she had two heads.

"Didn't anybody tell you about the explosion?" Sam asked warily.

"Well, yeah, but it sounded like you were fine…"

"I am."

"You look like hell," she informed him bluntly.

"Gee, thanks…"

"How close?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

"_That _close, huh? Fine. Be a tough guy. Just don't whine about being sore at the wedding."

"I don't whine. Ever."

"Ever, huh? Remember when Mr. Hammer met Mr. Thumb?"

"That wasn't whining. That was… didn't we agree to never talk about that again?"

Jules shrugged and turned to Natalie. "_You _okay?"

"Yeah, I guess… You still want to have the wedding tomorrow?"

"Well…yeah. I mean…he could've died today. You could've died today. _I _could've died today…Wouldn't you rather we had a last name in common instead? I'm just sayin' it's a whole lot less melodramatic."

Natalie flung her arms around Jules' neck, nearly knocking her over. "I'm glad that man didn't kill you."

"Right back atcha," Jules replied, giving her a quick hug back.

"Can I get one of those?"

"Spike!" Natalie almost thrust Jules away in her rush to seize him. "Got 'em," he said, answering Sam and Jules' unspoken question.

"Score for Team One…" Jules said, pleased until she remembered that didn't include her anymore. "And…you know…Guns and Gangs." Yeah, she wasn't fooling anybody. She cleared her throat. "Um…sorry about Andrea, by the way…I should be getting back. Gotta return the wheels…write a statement… I'll call you later," she promised Sam, before turning on her heel and bumping into Greg. "Oh, hey, Sarge, how long've you been standing there?"

"Long enough…we miss you, too, you know."

"Yeah…I've really gotta go," she insisted before making her escape.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah...Greg isn't letting that subject drop any time soon...and I am done typing tonight because the typos I've caught myself making have me going o.O**


	10. Coming Home

**A/N: I would have warned people that the ending was coming if I had realized it before I started writing this chapter...But here we are at the end of this story. A while back someone requested a one-shot where Sam meets Jules' brothers...I might write it. No promises, though. I seem to fail colossally at writing things without death and/or blowing stuff up (Siberia really WAS linked to an idea for a humorous fluff-fest(!)) so we'll see. I might be able to manage it if I blow something up. But enough about that...**

**Thanks for every review/alert/favorite. Hope you follow the story on to the sequel.**

**At the end of the day**, Jules' sentiments ran along the lines of…screw tradition. And so she ended up curled up on her couch with Sam's head in her lap. One hand absently stroked his hair; the other held a bag of frozen broccoli against a dark bruise that had formed on his side. From her vantage, he looked content enough to start purring at any second. Or at least as though he might fall asleep soon. "You ready to talk about it?" she asked. She was sure he'd have nightmares that night and sought to gain some insight into them sooner rather than later.

"You heard me tell Spike," he said, rubbing the side of his face against her lap as though it were an especially comfortable pillow.

"I heard you tell Spike what he needed to hear so he'd beat himself up a little less," she corrected, flipping the bag over so the cooler side rested against his skin.

"I'm not supposed to talk about ongoing investigations. And besides that, I'm fine."

"Sam." She drew out his name until it sounded like the longest single-syllable word in the history of humanity.

He huffed. "We got a call. Shots fired at the residence. Only when we got there, there were no onlookers. Nothing seemed out of place."

"But you got the call for a reason," she deduced.

He nodded slowly. "So we started looking around. Broke off into teams. I got paired with Andrea. We went around the back trying to see if we could get a visual of what was going on inside. The bedroom window was broken. The only open access point in the whole house. We could see the victims. Or their legs, at least. A little more than that. She must've slept in this morning because she was still wearing her nightgown. One of those floor-length ones. It was bunched up a little around her knees. He was dressed. Might've been on his way to work when it happened. They were lying face down on the floor. I could see their hands bound behind their backs. They weren't moving. It was weird."

In the pause where he frowned in concentration, Jules stayed quiet, rather than prompting him. He was on a roll now and would continue at his own pace.

"I relayed the facts while Andrea tried to get their attention from the window. Ed and Raf were still in front of the house, but I could hear Ed backing up Andrea's request to go in. Sarge gave the go-ahead and I helped her through the window. In a flash, she was on the other side of the bed, checking the victims. She reported they were dead. I was watching her as I pulled myself up. She turned him, Henry, over. Said bomb. I hesitated." His voice falters but he continues as though it hadn't. "She let him go. House blew. Up until that point, it was all by the book. Did everything right."

"So I'm sure you said in the debrief…you left some things out, though. You told Spike Andrea screwed up."

"She did. When she realized there was a bomb, she shouldn't have moved the body again. She have kept it still in case she'd tripped something…which she had because she was messing around with bodies she'd already declared were dead. She had no business moving the bodies."

"You're angry at her."

"Stop profiling me," he snapped.

Jules' hand stopped stroking his hair and grabbed a fistful of it.

"Ow…I'm sorry." He muttered the apology.

Her hand went back to stroking. "Why'd you hesitate?"

"I don't know. It felt off. And besides…Sarge hadn't wanted us to go in."

"But I thought…"

"He did. He gave the go-ahead. He tried to stall, though. I could tell he didn't want us going in, but he didn't have a reason to stop us. It was all by the damn book."

"And the book doesn't say anything about going with your gut," Jules concluded.

"Which meant letting Andrea get herself killed. What if the baby had been in the house and he just wasn't near the monitor?" He shuddered. Sometimes it was the what-ifs that really got to a person. "But I couldn't stick around and find out because Nat was in danger and Nat was supposed to be with _you _tonight and I didn't know where you were for the minute it took Raf to track you down, one of the longest minutes of my _life_…. And then I knew you were okay and then I thought Natalie was gone just…gone just like that…I mean, God, her voice…seeing her lying there…. It was a lot for one day," he finally admitted.

They were both quiet for a while, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Sam was thinking of how he could have made sure his team got home safely. Jules was thinking she _should _have been there to make sure everyone had gotten home that day. If she was honest, which she was, everyone she really cared about had made it home. She barely knew Andrea aside from a couple stray comments from the guys and the inferences she made from the other woman's even making it onto Team One. She knew being in her presence made Andrea nervous, so she'd kept their interactions brief, few, and far between. That alone should've worried her. Made her not trust the other woman to have her team's collective backs.

"Ow, Jules? What'd I do now?"

"Nothing, sorry." She stopped pulling and went back to stroking.

He caught her hand and pulled it to his lips. "Hey…it's okay."

"Who you tellin'? It was a lot for you, not me. I didn't get blown up."

"I _didn't_ get blown up."

"I didn't almost lose a sister because I messed up on a call that happened months ago."

"She's your sister, too. And you didn't mess up. You did everything right."

"Funny how that seems to be the running gag today. Doing everything _right _getting people killed.

"No, doing things by the book does sometimes." His lips were on her wrist now. "The book doesn't always get it right."

Jules raised an eyebrow as his lips edged higher up her arm. "Somebody needs to tell the author it's up for revision then. Don't hurt yourself…what are you doing?" she asked when he abandoned her arm, presumably because he'd run out of skin that was easily accessible from his position, and turned over onto his side to bury his face in her stomach, which he revealed by lifting the hem of her tank top out of his way.

"Kissing you."

"Oh." She dropped the broccoli on the coffee table, and then unfolded her legs and wiggled until she could stretch her body out along his, then tossed one leg over his thigh and an arm over his shoulder.

"What are _you_ doing?" he asked, no complaint whatsoever in evidence on his face.

"Mmm…" She stretched lightly, pressing her body against his. "Borrowing your body heat so I can sleep." She laughed when he growled, then kissed him with enough passion to let him know she was only kidding.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Hey…don't you know it's bad luck to—"<strong> Ed started to ride Sam only to be interrupted by Jules' hand suddenly blocking his view.

"Talk to the hand…it doesn't have any ears, but it'll have to do. Besides, Sarge wanted us _both _here before the wedding," Jules informed him as she walked into the briefing room where Raf was already waiting.

"Yeah…what she said," Sam endorsed with a smirk as he followed. Both of them were casually dressed. Jules because she was at least going to uphold the tradition of not letting him lay eyes on her dress until the ceremony; Sam because he didn't want to look like an idiot walking around in a tux while she strutted around in a pair of old jeans.

"Hey, I thought we had some downtime?" Spike asked as he walked into the barn.

"We do," Ed assured him, standing by the door. They'd just lost a team member and, as such, were entitled to some time off in addition to the day they'd already squared off in advance in order to attend the wedding. "I don't know what Greg wants," he added, throwing his hands up defensively when questioning eyes swiveled his way.

"He tells you _everything_," Raf insisted.

"Yeah, not everything," Ed rejoined, flicking his eyes toward Sam and Jules.

"For your own good, Eddy," Greg said, coming up behind his best friend.

Ed grunted when Greg clapped him on the shoulder, and then took a seat.

"Where's Wordy?" Greg asked after taking inventory of his team.

"Right here, sorry." The man in question brushed past Greg and tilted his head to the side. "Isn't it bad luck…?"

Ed shook his head. "Drop it. Greg, man, what's going on?"

"I wanted to talk to you guys and I didn't want to put this off until after the honeymooners returned to civilization."

At this, Sam and Jules grinned at each other. They were going to be unreachable for the two weeks they planned to spend hiking in the La Cloche Mountains.

"All right, so, I've been thinking about this ever since Jules left the team, or at least I started to think about it then… Look, I've told you guys before… You're my family. My salvation. I'm standing here as your sergeant right now because of you guys. Not because of the job, even though I love what we do. You guys had faith in me that I didn't have in myself. You restored that faith."

"Sarge…" Jules said softly, tilting her head to the side questioningly. As touching as what he had to say was to hear, she was sitting on pins and needles waiting for him to get to the point.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye to this team. I think we still have a lot of good years left in us—" He leveled a pointed glance directly at Wordy "—and I think we owe it to ourselves as well as each other to put those years to good use. As a team," he clarified in case there was any ambiguity whatsoever.

"Greg, there's no way they'd clear me," Wordy immediately pointed out. He might have left on his own free will, but trying to get back on the team with a pre-existing condition? Wasn't even worth considering.

"Is this why you really wanted to do this before the wedding?" Sam asked accusatorily. "You wanted to talk us out of it so Jules could come back?"

"No, no," Greg waved a hand. "Don't be ridiculous. _No_," he repeated for emphasis when he caught Jules' reproachful glare. Just hear me out, will you? Please? Everybody?" He waited for every head to nod. "I want to start a new private security company. I'm putting in my two weeks' notice and I want you guys to do the same. I want you all to come with me. We'd be doing the same thing we already do now, or nearly so, it'd just be as private citizens."

"Are you serious?" Spike asked uncertainly. "That'd take a lot of capital…"

"Taken care of," Greg replied cryptically.

"How?" Ed asked.

"Don't worry about it, Eddy, it's legit," Greg assured him. "Now, I've got to ask… Does anybody here feel like Wordy wouldn't have their back if the need arises?"

There were instant, _loud_ responses to the contrary.

"Anybody feel like Sam or Jules would endanger their life or the mission because they'll be married?"

More declarations of 'no' and 'hell no'.

"Then Wordy? Jules? If you're interested, I _really _want you guys on board with this, and you don't have to take on any roles you don't feel up to fillng. And I'm still waiting on the rest of you, too. New businesses take a lot of hard work and it's gonna be just us for now while we get things up and running. I've got copies of the business plan for you guys, but the gist of it is…"

"I'm in," Ed interrupted.

"But, I haven't even…"

"Count me, too," Wordy seconded.

"We trust you," Spike said. "I'm in, too."

"Same here," Sam said, looking at Jules and thinking it was a no-brainer.

"I'd like to see that business plan, if you don't mind," Jules stated primly.

"She's in," Sam said confidently.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Well duh. I've got to see what we're getting into here for myself, though, since none of you bozos wanna let the man speak." After she had folder in her hands and started flipping through it, she asked absently, "So what are you going to call this thing? Gregory's Angels?" She snorted at her own joke, imagining Ed, Raf, and Spike striking the iconic Charlie's Angels pose. She'd never emasculate Sam that way, even in her head.

"You mock, Jules, but I bet you'd look good in bell-bottoms and platform boots…" Raf remarked, looking at her as if he was trying to picture it in his head.

The other men weren't amused by the jest. If looks could kill, the coroner would be hard pressed to figure out which one had done him in.

"Hey, lighten up, guys…can't you take a joke?"

Jules rolled her eyes. "Boss? The name?"

"I was thinking maybe we should keep it simple. To the point, you know? How does Peace Keepers Inc. sound?"

"I approve." Jules gave Sam a nudge. "Let's go get married…"

"We've got to turn in our two weeks' notice, remember?" he replied.

"Sarge?"

"I'll take care of him."

"Wordy?"

"Got it covered."

"Sam?"

"I guess we're gonna go get married."

* * *

><p><strong>Jules had let Natalie fuss<strong> over her hair and makeup, complain about her pores, and help her into the satin, rose-embroidered sheath dress before she started to panic. However, the blonde didn't notice the brunette's sudden distress and, feeling rather pleased with her handiwork, left the cabana to take up her position at the end of the aisle.

Greg found his pint-sized protégé wearing out her sandals by pacing in the cabana a few minutes later. He glanced at the tread she'd already created in the sand and asked cautiously, "Everything all right in here?"

Jules stopped pacing and locked her panicked eyes on him. Her mentor. He had to know what to do. "I didn't write my vows. I'm supposed to go out there in a few minutes and I don't have anything to _say_."

Greg relaxed, then smiled kindly before patiently suggesting, "Let's slow down and take a deep breath."

"I don't have time to slow down!" she lamented. She took a breath anyway because the anxiety was making her feel light-headed. "What am I gonna do, Sarge? What am I gonna _say_?"

"You are going to walk down that aisle, look Sam in the eye, and tell him what's in your heart. "

"But I didn't practice or anything. What if I mess it up? I'm gonna ruin my own wedding," she fretted.

"He doesn't need you to be perfect. If he's marrying you, I bet he's seen all of you. The good, the bad, the ugly…the imperfect."

Jules snorted. "You'll never hear me praise his sanity for that move."

"Sometimes brilliance and insanity go hand in hand. You'll do fine. You ready for this?" He offered her his arm.

"Do I still look okay?"

"Perfect."

"Okay. I can do this," Jules braced herself as she took his arm. "Thanks for giving me away, Sarge."

"My pleasure," he responded, his eyes glowing with pride as the music began to play.

Together they emerged from the cabana as Izzy practically trotted down the makeshift aisle on chubby toddler legs, dumping flowers in clumps as she went. Jules wanted to scoop her up and hug her to pieces. Her eyes were still glittering with mirth when they met Sam's. She watched him watching her and her worries were forgotten. She realized it didn't matter what she said. It didn't matter what he said either. If they didn't know how each other felt by now, they wouldn't be getting married. They wouldn't be anything more than teammates because anything less than what they were, wouldn't have been worth turning her life upside down for without a second thought.

Everything else just kind of melted away as she was drawn inexorably toward him. Suddenly she was on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his.

"Ahem…we're not quite at that part of the program yet…"

Chuckles rose from their gathered friends and family.

"Well can we get there, already?" Sam asked, smiling down at Jules, who grinned back.

The celebrant obliged and commenced with the ceremony.

Jules was relieved that Sam didn't pull out a few notecards when it came time for his vows. She didn't care why, or if he had memorized them. She just didn't want to see them.

"Jules…the first time I ever met you, you pointed a gun at me. You've fascinated me ever since. Fascinated, amazed, stunned, awed…. You make me feel those things several times a day without even trying. You also frustrate, confound, and exasperate me on a daily basis. I think _that_'s intentional. But no matter what, one thing doesn't change. I love you. Day in and day out. I can't predict anything about what's going to come next except that that will never change. Whatever else happens, I promise I'll be by your side and we'll be taking it on together."

She gave him another kiss.

The celebrant gave her another reminder.

"Okay. Sam… I was content before I met you. Then you forced your way into my life and I haven't known any real peace until now. Because, even though I didn't realize it, if you were going to be in my life, it had to be for keeps. You're mine now, and I promise to be everything to you that you are to me. An anchor, a partner, a friend, a champion…everything. I love you and I won't let you down."

"The rings?" Sam turned to Spike and Jules to Natalie. Rings collected and exchanged, the celebrant declared, "By the power vested in my, I now pronounce you man and wife. _Now _you may kiss the bride."

Sam waited for Jules to take the initiative again. Jules waited for him to kiss her like he was supposed to. He finally dipped his head toward her and she met him halfway.

**A/A/N:Thanks to KateEals for the Gregory's Angels line and my new-found fondness for parentheses...**

** Because I'm so sweet (or evil (take your pick)), I'll leave you with a sneak peak at the sequel's summary: Sam and Jules go missing, and nobody knows it but them.**


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